Exploring Surrogacy: Ethical Concerns and Trends

Surrogacy has often been a path for parents facing infertility issues, but there are other factors at play that can, perhaps, stir some unease.

Curry Fell, a perinatal nurse with a background in obstetrics and gynecology from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is quite concerned about the implications of surrogacy and IVF practices.

She suggests that the motivations behind hiring a surrogate can sometimes feel unsettling, not just a straightforward decision.

“A recent study analyzing data prior to 2020 indicated that most participants were over 32. Moreover, 34% of these individuals were independent parents from outside the U.S., largely men, typically above 40,” Fell states.

Fell raises an eyebrow at these findings: “Shouldn’t we be concerned? Why is it acceptable for women in the U.S. to essentially sell their services to foreign men over the age of 40?”

This issue extends beyond just individual cases.

Fell shares her own experiences as a nurse in childbirth at San Francisco, where she encountered women seeking to have children to receive American citizenship, rather than focusing solely on Asian women for surrogacy.

“And it’s not just individual men. Couples, men, or women may approach agents in the U.S. to, you know, acquire children as a means to citizenship,” she notes.

Many same-sex couples, for instance, also use surrogacy and IVF to start families. “Two men aiming to have kids often involve both egg donors and surrogate mothers,” Fell explains. “It’s a bit odd because it ensures that nobody is seen as a mother—it’s intentional.”

She goes on about the egg donation process, where “healthy young women undergo intensive medication to maximize egg extraction, assuming, of course, that the amount is manageable. Yet, based on discussions, there are cases where donors might end up with over 50 eggs extracted.”

There are significant risks tied to these practices. “The medications can lead to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which in the long term can cause severe complications like infertility or even stroke,” she warns. “And many such incidents concerning donors often remain unreported. When they give their eggs, they might not get the full picture regarding their medical history.”

This is particularly concerning, she argues, as women are born with a finite number of eggs. “As time goes on, we really need more research on how this affects fertility later in life, or whether hormone treatments lead to increased cancer risks.”