Here again in my Ethics reflective dairy and this week I will be discussing a very interesting and crucial topic for today’s society; that is what we call contemporary ethical issues. Thus some examples of the contemporary ethical issue are Cloning, Surrogate Motherhood, Euthanasia, Suicide, Abortion, Same-sex Marriage, Animal rights, Internet Privacy, Death Penalty and the Insider Trading. Hence, since all these topics are important In daily lives I choose to reflect one of them in my Ethics Reflective Dairy and it is the SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD.
To start with, Among the many applications of the new reproductive technologies including artificial insemination by donor AID, in vitro fertilization IVF, embryo transfer, and embryo freezing surrogate motherhood has such far-reaching consequences that it raises a multitude of ethical and legal questions. It has been hotly debated in courts and legislatures, and has merited consideration by Commissions, Inquiries, Working Parties and professional societies in many countries around the world. What distinguishes surrogacy from other reproductive technologies is not the technology itself but the circumstances of its application; an arrangement whereby one woman bears a child for another, with the intent of relinquishing the infant at birth. The surrogate arrangement is most often made between a couple where the wife is infertile and a surrogate; in the contract signed by both parties, the surrogate agrees to be artificially inseminated with the husband’s sperm, to bear a child, and at birth to give up all parental rights and transfer physical custody of the child to the commissioning couple. Although contracts vary, they always include provisions concerning the rights and responsibilities of all parties, both before and during pregnancy and after the birth of the child. The heart of the arrangement is the promise by the surrogate to give up custody of the child and the promise of the other party to accept the child.
In addition, the most common questions that societies ask about this ethical issue are as follows: what is the degree of stress on the couple and especially on the surrogate mother? Can true informed consent ever be given by the surrogate, and can anyone predict the emotions associated with relinquishing a child? What are the possible adverse psychological effects on the child? What identity crisis might ensue, and will there be a desire on the part of the child to know his/her gestational mother? Will surrogate arrangements be used not only by infertile couples but also for the sake of convenience, or by single men or women? What happens when no one wants a handicapped newborn? Should the couple and surrogate remain unknown to each other? Should the child be told? What kinds of records should be kept, and should the child have access to them?
Furthermore, there are several motives and reasons behind the surrogacy motherhood and why a couple might choose to have a child through surrogacy. Infertility is a common reason with approximately 15-20 per cent of all couples infertile and a decrease in adoptable babies, many argue that surrogate motherhood provides a unique opportunity for certain couples to have a child biologically related to the husband. Other reasons range from the desire to avoid passing on a genetic defect to convenience.
In my country there is no such surrogacy motherhood and there are several reasons for that firstly, my country is one of the poorest countries in the world and it is underdeveloped therefore these technological improvements and changes are not adopted yet and secondly, my country is 100% Muslim, all the residents are Muslim community and it is prohibited by the Islamic religio. Therefore, people cannot make such unethical issues among the society.
Hence, in my opinion, since surrogacy is and will be used widely by middle and upper class people, it will be a new form of exploitation of the poor by the rich, which will be carried out directly from person to person and family to family. Surrogacy will widen inequality and encourage discrimination against the poor, if the rich are allowed to exploit. The evidence can be seen from the fact that the targeted market for surrogate mothers is composed of women who do not have access to resources such as money and education.
The surrogate mother, even though she may grant consent, must go through considerable hormonal and other physiological changes during surrogacy. She may also have changed her mind not to surrender the baby or babies she carried, but according to contractual terms,
this is unlikely. Leasing her womb for money is, therefore, not ethical and a failure of society, as a whole, if it has the resources to provide her with other alternatives.
All in all, Surrogacy is an unethical issue which is increasing day after another and if the society stop among themselves it will spread and affect the community as I mentioned before.