Surrogacy. Problems of surrogate motherhood

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The goal that almost all married couples strive for at all times is the birth and upbringing of children. For many, this goal is the most important in life, for the sake of which people go to the most unpredictable actions that can contradict all moral, ethical and legal norms, because, according to statistics, about 20% of couples do not have the opportunity to give birth to their own children. In extreme cases, couples resort to the services of surrogate mothers, resulting in all sorts of surrogacy problems.

This problem, both in the world and in Russia, is only gaining momentum every year. It is becoming more and more relevant from a medical, ethical, legal, moral point of view. This is surrogate motherhood. Problems that arise during its implementation and after can have a negative impact not only onsurrogate mother, but also for the genetic parents and for the child.

Essence of the phenomenon

Surrogate motherhood is the fertilization, bearing and birth of a child, which takes place according to an agreement concluded between potential future parents and a surrogate mother. At the same time, for the fertilization of a woman, the germ cells of future parents are taken, for which, for medical reasons, the birth of a child is impossible.

A surrogate mother is essentially a woman who agrees to be fertilized with the cells of a man and a woman (future parents), bear, give birth and transfer the child into the hands of legal parents.

The last resort resorted to by married couples is the service of surrogate motherhood.

Multidimensionality of the problem of surrogate motherhood

Both surrogacy and other types of reproductive technologies, which today help many couples to enjoy the joy of fatherhood and motherhood, have both significant disadvantages and significant advantages.

Of course, infertile couples use all methods of reproduction for the happiness that children's laughter brings into the home, including surrogacy as a last resort.

The problems that arise as a result of the spread and implementation of modern methods of conceiving and having children also have a significant impact on the moral, ethical and social well-being of society. At the same time, modern couples are not completelyare aware of all the problematic aspects that arise later, and, of course, cannot and do not even want to evaluate all that the use of such methods leads to.

Legal regulation of surrogacy in Russia

Legal regulation in Russia plays a significant role, because it is regulated by more than one legislative act and document. These are articles in the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the federal law “On the Basics of Protecting the He alth of Citizens in the Russian Federation”, the law “On Civil Status Acts”, the order of the Ministry of He alth of the Russian Federation “On the Use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in the Treatment of Female and Male Infertility.”

To register a child who was born by surrogacy, the following documents are required:

– birth certificate from a medical institution;

– consent of the surrogate mother;

– certificate from the clinic about IVF.

Problem aspects of surrogate motherhood

There are opponents of methods of reproduction, which in particular emphasize surrogate motherhood. The problems that arise in this case are multifaceted:

– children turn into something that can be bought and sold;

- situations arise in which we althy couples or individual men, women can take into service not very well-to-do women who are ready for anything for the sake of money, even bearing and giving birth to children, which is completely contrary to naturalhuman instincts;

– surrogate motherhood is becoming a so-called work under a contract, so a woman’s thoughts about earning will be initial, and considerations about the benefits for herself, the baby and others become secondary and, as it were, fade into the background;

– supporters of the feminist movement point out that the surrogate practice will become an impetus for the exploitation of the female half of the population;

– Church officials note that surrogate motherhood is one of the impetuses for moving away from the humanistic beginning of a person and from traditional culture, the spiritual and moral side of a person;

Even if at the beginning of pregnancy a woman felt that she would be able to give away her born and born child without any problems and difficulty, within 9 months a very close and mysterious connection is established between the baby and the woman who carried him. For a woman who has given birth, it becomes a real psychological trauma to transfer the child into the hands of customers. This is the real open ethical issue of surrogacy.

State programs in solving the problems of surrogate motherhood

Legislation and all state programs are aimed at reducing the number of cases of surrogate motherhood, especially when a woman herself can bear and give birth to her own baby:

– Diseases of the uterus that prevent a woman from bearing a child.

– Complete absence of the uterus after removal.

– Habitual miscarriage,which cannot be cured by any existing medical methods.

– Serious somatic diseases of the heart system, kidneys, liver, in the presence of which it is difficult not only to give birth, but even to become pregnant.

Problems of the legal nature of surrogacy that violate the rights of biological parents

There are not only moral, moral and ethical, but also significant problems in the legal regulation of surrogate motherhood in Russia. Such shortcomings make surrogate mothers vulnerable in some situations, while in others, couples or individuals who hire a woman to carry and give birth to their child suffer. Among such legislative problems are:

1) Illegal actions and extortion by a woman who carries and gives birth to a child. After all, based on legislative acts, biological parents can register themselves as legal and official parents only after providing consent from the surrogate mother. Often there are cases when such parents, knowing the loopholes in the law, begin to demand larger amounts of remuneration than was prescribed in the contract between the two parties, or real estate.

2) It is also necessary to create a legislative act that would protect biological parents from extortion and unacceptable actions on the part of a woman who has given birth to a child. After all, there are cases when surrogate mothers, who at the beginning of pregnancy were determined to honestly hand over the child, after giving birth drastically change their mind (and thisquite understandable by natural instincts) and begin to look for ways to appropriate the baby. They can do this even after the official registration of the child, the transfer of the amount that they are en titled to under the contract or property from the legal parents. Moreover, even after fulfilling all the conditions of the contract for a woman who has given birth to a child, the court can leave the baby, and the parents will be left without money and without a child.

Legal problems from the surrogate mother

Legal problems of surrogate motherhood can also arise from a woman who has given birth to a child under certain conditions. For example, there are times when a baby is born with some kind of deviation, pathology or disease, and the biological parents refuse to take the child and pay the money due to the mother. In this case, the surrogate mother can be left not only without money, but also in her arms with a sick baby with genes that are alien to her.

So there are problems of surrogate motherhood in Russia, because the legislative base in our country is far from perfect. These problematic aspects require a reasonable, balanced decision of specialists, and not a complete refusal to legalize this phenomenon, because there are quite a lot of cases of illegal motherhood by surrogacy. And it's good if people can, according to the agreement, resolve all problems and disperse peacefully, without infringing on the rights of each other, but often the opposite is true.

When blaming the surrogate mother for the illnesses of the born child, you need to study the information on this matter well. After all, sinceFrom a physiological point of view, during pregnancy, diseases cannot be transmitted from a surrogate mother to a fetus, their blood does not come into contact. All external and internal data, character traits are determined only at the genetic level. Only the condition of a pregnant woman on the baby, her psychological and physical he alth can negatively affect, but, as a rule, all these factors are carefully checked before pregnancy.

Ethical surrogacy issues

In the legislation of the Russian Federation there are a number of laws that regulate relations in the area under consideration. Although the moral and ethical issues of surrogacy are far from any legal norms.

Among the ethical issues associated with the use of surrogacy are:

– possible mental and physical problems for the surrogate mother and the child who is in the womb;

– violation of the concept of consanguinity and family ties;

– necessary to ensure the secrecy of the origin of the child;

– mental disorder in real potential parents;

– the commercial side of motherhood (the use of an organ - the uterus - for profit);

– buying and selling children.

Physical and mental problems for the surrogate mother and child

Bioethical problems of surrogate motherhood are multifaceted and affect the physical and mental he alth of the surrogate mother and thechild. This is easily explained by the fact that, as a rule, these women suffer from early toxicosis much more often than those who bear their own fetus. After all, a woman pregnant with her child carries a baby, half of the genotype of which belongs to her. A surrogate mother carries a fetus that is foreign to her body, consisting of cells that belong to biological parents. The fetus in such cases can be rejected more often than usual, physical complications occur (weakness, loss of appetite or refusal to eat, vomiting). Against their background, there are also mental problems (suspiciousness, excessive anxiety, irritability).

Psychological trauma of the surrogate mother and child

The moral issues of surrogate motherhood are also widespread. Even though reproductive advocates only say that:

1) Women who do not have a chance to bear and give birth to their own child, only through the surrogate method can enjoy the happiness of motherhood.

2) The incomparable joy of having a genetically own child.

They are silent, as a rule, about the fact that there are colossal psychological problems, because a woman who carried and gave birth to a child is already experiencing postpartum depression due to a sharp change in hormones, and a surrogate mother must transfer the baby into her hands parents-customers, which most often causes a huge psychological trauma. Child at breakup with a woman who enduredhim, also suffers, because for 9 months they were connected.

Violation of conceptions of consanguinity and family ties

There are examples when a grandmother bears and gives birth to a grandson or granddaughter, while acting as a surrogate mother. In such cases, the same woman acts as both a mother and a grandmother, which violates blood relations and the designation of generally accepted concepts. There are ethical problems of surrogate motherhood. Bioethics in such cases is violated, and children suffer, who cannot fully understand their origin and the concept of who is who in the family. Often the child has questions about who is who: mother or grandmother. While it's probably best to keep the origin a secret, it's not always so easy in real life.

Ensuring the mystery of the origin of the child

The ethical problems of surrogate motherhood also consist in keeping secrets about how the child was carried and born, about its origin. After all, those who entered into an agreement on surrogate motherhood and experienced the whole process as a surrogate mother or biological parents know firsthand how difficult it is to keep the secret of the baby's origin. The problems of surrogate motherhood in Russia are further aggravated due to the peculiarities of the mentality, because it is so hard for our people to remain silent and not spread gossip.

Mental disorders in biological parents

Surrogate motherhood negatively affects the psyche and genetic parents. The problems that arise in the process are psychological in nature and consist in the fact thatwhat:

– a surrogate mother can refuse to provide services, taking an advance payment, and disappear from the country;

- the fear of a genetic mother who cannot know about the conditions in which her baby is and whether there is a negative impact on the fetus. She has no control over the surrogate anyway;

– after the birth of a baby, parents often begin to look for similarities with the woman who carried the child for them, and fear that she could convey something to him.