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Jacqueline Rocha
Mr. Newman
English 101: Rhetoric
1 December 2014
A Womb for Sale
Every family that tries for a baby is not always successful. If for medical reasons or
something else, not everyone is capable of producing a child. Many families suffer from this
outcome and are lead to go through different options. One of these options is surrogacy.
Surrogacy is an arrangement or agreement that a woman will carry a child for the intended
family. Many families decide to go with a surrogate, but is not always praised by others. If both
parties in this decision are in agreement, is there a need to deny the family of a possible child?
Ensuring the safety of the procedure and the entire journey of the pregnancy should be the main
focus for anyone who decide to go through with a surrogate. While some argue that using a
surrogate in having a child is complicated and demeaning to women, they should focus on how
to make the journey safe and apparent for both the surrogate and family.
Becoming a parent is a big step in life for anyone who is willing to take on the role.
Surrogacy is not a simple step plan granting a child to the people paying for him/her. It is an
extensive process which could take a worthy amount of time to perfect. Nidhi Desai is partnered
with a law firm specializing in adoption and reproductive issues and author of the article,
Legalize Surrogacy So It Can Be Regulated. According to Desai, she writes, To protect all
parties involved and address all interest, surrogacy should be widely legalized so that each state
develops a framework within which it defines how we balance the complex interests of the
parties. Depending on the type of surrogate a family takes, there are different legal tasks that

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accompany them. Helping to make this an easier task for both the parent or parents and surrogate
involved, all states should consider having it become legal so they can deal with the matter their
own way. For example, Illinois is one of many of the states that has taken it upon themselves to
create and regulate rules to follow if surrogacy is an option. They have created many
requirements that must be followed before the procedure can even begin. One of the
requirements is, obtaining the surrogates meaningful consent and understanding after required
medical consultation (Desai). Along with more requests for the the extensive process, it can
be made safer and easier to ensure a happy outcome for both parties.
Providing a physically and mentally safe environment is crucial to ensure that both the
surrogate and parents involved keep a professional composure throughout the pregnancy. The
care that the surrogate will undergo from countless doctors visits and from the constant worry
from the parent(s) involved could bring upon psychological damage that must be treated far in
advance. In Andrea Bravermans article Professionals Must Deal With a Surrogates Emotional
Needs insinuates that the help of counseling will create positive outcomes for the party
involved. Braverman is a clinical associate of psychiatry and human behavior who has worked in
the surrogacy field since 1989. Within the article, it states, Counseling guides the gestational
surrogate through any emotional upheaval that may arise during a pregnancy-- not just the good
feelings, but the bad and the ugly. (Braverman). In other words, Braverman believes that
although there may be great moments throughout the journey that the surrogate and intended
family will go through, a professional third opinion would be needed for the dreadful encounters
that will arise. Sustaining a sheltered environment for those going through this ultimate decision
is not sufficient for others.

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Although surrogacy is a sensitive issue that must be dealt with seriously for those
considering it and being one of the few ways a family can be gifted with a child, Arthur Caplan,
a Professor at Virginia Connolly Mitty and founding head of the division of bioethics at New
York University Langone Medical Center, views the issue as a woman selling her body for
money. Caplan contradicts himself within his article Paid Surrogacy Is Exploitative,. On the
one hand, he argues, I have no issue with altruistic surrogacy. while again stating that, It is
paid surrogacy that gives me ethical heartburn. His point is that the only reason women,
mainly in third world countries, would agree to become a surrogate is because they are in
desperate need of money. Proof of this is given when he states, The problem is that the only
motive for being a paid surrogate is poverty, (Caplan). While Caplan is probably wrong that all
women in other countries only agree to surrogacy for the financial gain, he is right that it is
somewhat exploitative for families to travel to these poorer countries to obtain a willing
surrogate.
With the issue of surrogacy becoming widely popular, it is important to enforce laws that
will protect the agreements made within those involved. There is no easy way to go about this
procedure, whether a traditional or gestational surrogacy is taking place. Margaret Swain, author
of, When a Surrogate Has a Genetic Role, and a lawyer specializing in assisted reproductive
technology law, adoption, and guardianship explains the vital importance that choosing the type
of surrogacy that will take place will come will different legal measures that are different for
other types. For example, a traditional surrogacy is when the surrogate is inseminated with the
sperm of the intended father. Swain states, The birth mother/ surrogate has the same rights as
any birth mother, including the right to revoke a consent to placement of the child. The point
that Swain is trying to make is that because the surrogate is the biological mother, she has the

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right to keep the child and lose the agreement she made with the family that the newborn was
supposed to go with. In a gestational surrogacy, the surrogate would not be related to the child
she is carrying in anyway, so she would have to follow up with her responsibility of delivering
the child for the intended family. Continuing through her article, Swain explains, While
enabling laws would be helpful, it is unlikely that such regulation will be appearing in the
foreseeable future. With this being such a drastic issue, it is important to speak with those of
this authority to create laws that would make surrogacy a simpler task for the parents and that the
surrogate knows her place within this journey so legal matters wont have to take place when the
child has his/her first breath.
Surrogacy is no simple task. Although it contains many drawbacks and no predetermined
outcomes, there are ways to make the experience simpler for those involved. I believe that
surrogacy should be an option that families get to have whether they themselves are unable to
conceive a child or whether they want to experience the pregnancy with someone else. The only
setback should be if the intentions of the parent or parents are not in favor of the surrogate.
Allowing surrogacy to be legalized in all states would help immensely in each of them creating
their own specific jurisdiction to ensure a positive understanding within the parties involved.

Works Cited
Braverman, Andrea. Professionals Must Deal with a Surrogates Emotional Needs. The
New York Times 22 Sept. 2014: n. pag. Room for Debate. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.

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Caplan, Arthur. Paid Surrogacy Is Exploitative. The New York Times 23 Sept. 2014: n.
pag. Room for Debate. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
Desai, Nidhi. Legalize Surrogacy So It Can Be Regulated. The New York Times 23
Sept. 2014: n. pag. Room for Debate. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
Swain, Margaret. When a Surrogate Has a Genetic Role. The New York Times 23 Sept.
2014: n. pag. Room for Debate. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.