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Surrogate Mothers Online Q & A

Q & A: Surrogacy In General Miscellaneous surrogacy related questions that do not fit under any of the other categories 35. I am a student in California and I am writing a paper on surrogate parenting. Could you please tell me if you feel that you're providing a service to society? Have you or anyone that you have known encountered any legal problems regarding surrogate parenting? - Carrie and Jamilha in CA - Top Dear Carrie and Jamilha, Hello! School papers are always so much fun. On to your questions. 1. Do I feel like I am providing a service to society? No. I don't feel like I am providing a service to society. But, I do feel as if I am providing an act of kindness to human kind. Society is houses, incomes, sterotypes, and that is not what I do surrogacy for. But I do give caring, happiness and love to families who want a child to care for and love. I don't think of it as a service but as a token to be shared forever with our species. 2. Have you or anyone you have ever known encountered any legal problems regarding surrogacy? No. But there are documented cases and less then 1% of all surrogate births have resulted in legal problems. In adoption, approx. 30% have resulted in legal problems. Noel Keane wrote a book many years before his death and he states some cases that didn't go perfectly. Surrogacy in the United States, in history in general, is a newborn and I don't know when we will see legal representations of how surrogacy should and will be dealt with...in my estimation, decades. Well Carrie and Jamilha, I hope that helps. Good Luck! And remember surrogacy is always a gift from the heart. Jennifer S. I feel that surrogates ARE providing a service to society in that today, there are fewer children to adopt because of society's changed attitudes toward single parenting and the availability of abortion as an option for unwanted pregnancies. That and the statistic quoted to me at an adoption information meeting that 24% of adoption arrangements fall thru because one of the birth parents changes their minds. Surrogacy has allowed me to have a child even though a drug prescribed for my mother during pregnancy (DES) left me unable to carry a pregnancy. We know that parents pursuing surrogacy truly want these children and will provide good homes for them. I have not heard of any legal problems regarding surrogacy from anyone I know. All our legal work went through easily without any problems. Linda P - Updated: February 13, 2000

Unless stated otherwise, all responses in the SMO Q&A are courtesy of one or more of the following hosts: Sherry - Experienced gestational surrogate currently working on her 2nd surrogacy arrangement Linda - New Mommy to twins born via gestational surrogacy and egg donation Jennifer S. - Experienced AI surrogate Lynn - New Mommy to a daughter born via traditional surrogacy Tracie - 5 time egg donor (triplets, 2 sets of twins and 2 singletons) and 3 time surrogate (2-AI, 1-IVF). Lisa - Experienced egg donor and previous gestational surrogate currently working on her 2nd surrogacy arrangement (Lisa was our former ED host, prior to July 1999.) Disclaimer: Responses from SMO Q&A Hosts do not necessarily represent the opinions and ideas of SMO. Neither the Q&A hosts nor SMO guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the responses given here. As such, neither SMO nor the Q&A hosts are responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. Neither SMO nor the Q&A hosts shall be liable or responsible to any person or entity for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly by the information or ideas contained, suggested, or referenced in these responses. Q&A Categories | Search Q&A's | Submit A Question | SMO Home Page