Traditional surrogates carry babies for women suffering from infertility or for men or same sex male couples who desire a child. Because the surrogate is the biological mother of the child, traditional surrogacy has become less popular than gestational surrogacy, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. In gestational surrogacy, the woman carrying the pregnancy has no biological ties to the child. Legal issues may arise more often in traditional surrogacy arrangements because of the surrogate's biological relationship with the child.
Identification
Traditional surrogates are inseminated with donor sperm from the prospective father during ovulation. If a pregnancy occurs, the sperm donor is the biological father, while the surrogate is the biological mother. When the child is born, the surrogate turns the baby over to the couple or person who contracted the woman to carry the child.
Process
If you use an agency to find a surrogate, the potential surrogate will undergo medical and psychological testing before being approved as a surrogate. Psychological screening is recommended even if you use a relative as a surrogate due to the complex emotional issues involved in traditional surrogacy. After you have selected a surrogate, she will be provided with sperm from from the intended father during a procedure called artificial insemination. Before the artificial insemination procedure begins, sperm is collected after the prospective father masturbates into a specimen cup. The sperm is "washed" to remove weak sperm and is then injected into the surrogate's cervix.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The medical procedures required to produce a pregnancy are less expensive in traditional surrogacy than gestational surrogacy. If you choose gestational surrogacy, eggs are obtained from the woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy during a special surgical procedure. The eggs are then mixed with sperm in a lab and the resulting embryo is transplanted into the gestational surrogate using costly in vitro fertilization techniques. Traditional surrogacy requires only a sperm sample. While the cost of gestational surrogacy is higher, the emotional toll is lower because the surrogate mother is not biologically related to the child. People who use a traditional surrogate must face the possibility that the surrogate will not want to relinquish the baby after it is born.
Considerations
Obtaining legal services is an important step if you are considering traditional surrogacy. A lawyer will create a contract between the surrogate and the prospective parents covering such issues as payment, medical care for the surrogate and custody arrangements should something happen to the prospective parents before the birth. A lawyer will also be needed to obtain a court order declaring that the surrogate has no legal parental rights or obligations and that the prospective parents are legal parents of the baby. The Human Rights campaign recommends that the surrogate retain her own lawyer during the negotiation phase of the contract.
Cost
Using a traditional surrogate can be a very expensive arrangement for the prospective parents. Costs can range from $20,000 to $120,000 or higher, according to FertilityProRegistry.com. In addition to paying the surrogate a fee to carry the child, the prospective parents must also cover screening tests, artificial insemination fees, and medical and delivery expenses.
