Surrogacy : The ethics of paid surrogacy

Wilkinson, Stephen (2023) Surrogacy : The ethics of paid surrogacy. In: The Routledge Handbook of Commodification :. Routledge International Handbooks . Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 303-320. ISBN 9781032037370

Abstract

This chapter explains, reconstructs, and critically assesses some of the numerous ethical, philosophical, and policy arguments against paid surrogacy. Its focus is on ethics and, in general terms, on the normative question of which policy frameworks would be most defensible ethically. Three main types of argument are considered. First, there is a claim that paid surrogacy is a form of baby selling. Second, there are concerns about its being exploitative and about the quality of surrogates’ consents. Finally, there is a family of arguments which accuse paid surrogacy of degrading and instrumentalising surrogates and/or their children, of treating them as objects of use rather than persons worthy of respect and consideration. The main conclusion is that, in principle, paid surrogacy can withstand the arguments against it. In policy terms, more work would need to be done to flesh out the specifics of what it takes for a surrogacy contract to be fair and what systems of regulation and international cooperation are best placed to maximize fairness in surrogacy globally. But while there are these practical and political challenges, it should be remembered that defining fairness in contracts and ensuring that actual practice conforms to whatever definition of fairness we agree on is a massive challenge applying to trade and employment of all kinds. These issues are not particular to paid surrogacy and so do not constitute arguments specifically against it.