The term "surrogate mother" describes several different legal arrangements. Based on 2006 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, 1 percent of all in vitro fertilization cycles involves use of gestational surrogates, the Council for Responsible Genetics reports.
Legal Terms
The legal definition of a surrogate is a woman who bears a child for another person or couple, who then adopts the child or takes legal custody. Mothering by proxy is another term for surrogacy, according to "West's Encyclopedia of American Law." The couple who will raise the child are called the intended parents. The laws regarding surrogacy vary from state to state, and laws change from time to time. Third-party reproduction is another term of use of a surrogate or egg donor. In some states, the surrogate and her husband are considered the legal parents of the child, The Free Dictionary says, and the intended parents must adopt the child after birth.
Traditional Surrogacy
In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate, the biological mother of the child, undergoes artificial insemination with sperm from the intended father. She carries the pregnancy and gives birth, then gives the child to the intended parents. Because the child is biologically hers, traditional surrogacy can cause legal difficulties if the surrogate decides to keep the child.
Gestational Surrogacy
In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate is not the biological mother of the child she gives birth to. The child is biologically related to both intended parents. This type of surrogacy requires in vitro fertilization to create an embryo that is transferred into the surrogate. Couples who can't produce an embryo on their own but who do not want the surrogate to be the biological mother of the child may consider a third type of surrogacy. Another woman donates the egg that produces the embryo, which is fertilized via IVF with the intended father's sperm or donor sperm. A second woman carries and delivers the infant, who has no genetic connection to her. Because the surrogate is not the biological mother, gestational surrogacy causes fewer legal complications.
Methods
Traditional surrogacy usually involves use of artificial insemination, although this isn't medically necessary. The surrogate and intended father could conceive the child through sexual intercourse, although few couples choose this route. Most monitor the surrogate's menstrual cycle through a fertility clinic and then use artificial insemination at the time of ovulation. Gestational surrogacy always requires use of an IVF clinic to create the embryo in the laboratory.
Choices
Surrogates are often someone the intended parents know and trust, such as a relative or close friend, although they can also pay a stranger found through a surrogacy agency to be the surrogate. Gestational carriers, whether known or unknown, must undergo rigorous medical and sometimes psychological testing before most fertility centers will allow them to undergo the process, Reproductive Medical Associates of Philadelphia explains. A legally binding contract drawn up with the assistance of a lawyer familiar with surrogacy laws helps to avoid complications whether or not the intended parents know the surrogate.
