Surrogacy: Love, Ethics, and Modern Family Building

Gestational surrogacy, a method for building families, involves significant medical, legal, and emotional complexities for all involved. Sammi Itatani's journey, carrying twins for two fathers, illustrates the personal connections that can form, even as the surrogate prepares for a different postpartum experience.

The financial disparity between egg donors and surrogates is notable, with surrogates often compensated at rates lower than egg donors per hour of their time, suggesting a monetary value placed on genetic material over the extensive work of pregnancy.

Discussions around termination, embryo creation, and religious viewpoints on IVF add further layers to the surrogacy process. Countries like Spain and India have implemented restrictions or bans on international surrogacy, citing concerns about exploitation and children's rights.

Navigating surrogacy requires in-depth agreements on prenatal testing, potential termination scenarios, and compensation. For many surrogates, the experience is less about financial gain and more about facilitating the creation of a family, as seen in the case of military wives who often find surrogacy compatible with their lifestyle.

The article highlights that surrogates often grieve the loss of the close relationship with the intended parents post-birth, rather than the child itself. For Sammi Itatani, the birth of the twins marked the end of a significant, intimate period, transitioning from daily contact to a more distant relationship once the family took their babies home.