In the U.S., surrogacy laws vary by state, but on the whole, it’s largely unregulated and gaining more acceptance as celebrities like Khloe Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and Chrissy Teigen publicly celebrate their babies born via surrogate.
In reality, Big Surrogacy is a dehumanizing, multi-billion dollar industry fueled by wealth, desperation, and personal desire. There’s a reason we don’t allow the sale of organs or tissues in the United States: it would lead to a massive exploitation of vulnerable bodies. So why is it legal to sell eggs and rent out wombs in the U.S.?
In many western countries—like Australia, Great Britain, and Canada—for-profit surrogacy is illegal. It’s time for the United States to follow suit and outlaw this unethical, dangerous, and dehumanizing practice.
What rights do women have to their bodies when a health emergency surfaces? What right to life does a child have when they’re a commercialized product expected to “turn out” a certain way? And in traditional surrogacy (where egg and/or sperm do not belong to the purchasing parents), what right does the child have to his or her biological parents in the aftermath of this game of reproductive musical chairs?
None of these questions have answers right now.
