Surrogacy and Its Ethical Implications on Nursing Research Paper

Keywords: surrogacy, ethics in surrogacy, pros and cons of surrogacy

Introduction

Surrogacy is defined as the agreement between two parties to carry a pregnancy on behalf of the intended parents, with one or more members representing each party (Parks, 2010). In simpler terms, it is the carrying of a pregnancy by a woman who is not the biological mother of the child. Upon delivery, the child is given back to the biological parents. Surrogacy has been described as one of the best inventions in the modern medicine, as it has helped people who cannot have children for one reason or the other raise a family. However, there are some disadvantages that have been associated with surrogate parenting. This paper discusses the pros and cons of surrogacy, including those that are related to modern medicine and those that are ethical in nature. Additionally, it will discuss how the ethical issues have impacted nursing practice and how the concept can affect nursing, in general. The paper will prove that ethical dilemmas associated with surrogacy can cripple families and define some aspects of nursing in the future at the same time.

Pros and Cons of Surrogacy from a Medical Point of View

As mentioned, surrogacy has been described as one of the best inventions in modern medicine. One of the most relevant medical advantages of surrogacy is the advancement of modern medicine through the concept. For example, it is the idea of surrogacy that allowed scientists and medical practitioners to understand fully how to conceive a baby in the lab. Many surrogate mothers do not have intercourse with the man involved (Bailey, 2011). Medical practitioners realized that they could fertilize a woman’s egg using her husband’s sperm and then insert the fertilized egg into the womb of another woman.

The idea of surrogacy was born to help people who could not give birth, but had no problem conceiving. This type of surrogacy is referred to as gestational surrogacy, as the woman who gives birth is not biologically related to the child. The idea led to other medical advancements, including test tube gestation.

Another pro that can be cited is the advancement of the concept itself. As mentioned, many surrogate mothers do not have intercourse with the father of the child. However, it was determined that insemination can help families where the wife is barren. In fact, the Mary Beth Whitehead case was one where the surrogate, Mary Beth Whitehead, was inseminated with Bill Stern’s sperm. Therefore, the baby is genetically related to Mary Beth Whitehead. Insemination is a procedure where sperms are harvested and injected into a woman at the time of ovulation. No sexual intercourse is involved. This type of surrogacy is referred as traditional surrogacy in the medical field.

Despite the medical advantages of surrogacy, the concept is also medically flawed. Many of the flaws associated with surrogacy tend to be physiological, rather than physical (Bailey, 2011). There have been cases of emotional attachment to the baby, such that the surrogate mother refuses to give the child to its intended parents. This disadvantage affects both gestational and traditional surrogacy (Parks, 2010). However, it is more prevalent in traditional surrogacy. In addition, emotional distress and feelings of dissatisfaction have also crippled some surrogate mothers. Drawing from the Mary Beth Whitehead story, she was so emotionally disturbed by the thought of giving her baby to the Sterns, that she went to court to contest it. During the court case, Mary Beth Whitehead asserted that she had become emotionally attached to the baby.

Additionally, surrogacy can cause health issues for the baby. It is a common occurrence in traditional surrogacy. Health problems can be a significant concern because many surrogate mothers get recruited by agencies and not by hospitals (Bailey, 2011). Such agencies may not be thorough in investigating the health backgrounds of the people involved. In the same breadth, there are hospitals that also ignore the importance of checking the medical history of the surrogate mother. Thus, the baby gets exposed to hereditary conditions that both the biological mother and the father may have. Similarly, gestational surrogacy also does not prevent the baby from catching the biological parents’ genetic conditions. Hospitals and medical practitioners have not been keen in analyzing the health conditions of the parents in gestational surrogacy. It is usually assumed that the biological parents would still have the baby if they were capable, but never consulted with doctors over their hereditary health conditions. For example, an Australian couple recently abandoned their son after realizing that he had Down syndrome (“Conflicting claims over”, 2014). This shows that the doctors were not k