Normalizing Surrogacy

Intended parents who are considering surrogacy to start or add on to their families sometimes worry that there will be a “stigma” attached to the concept. They might be concerned that family members and friends will not understand their decision. Well, worry no more! Gestational surrogacy has steadily increased in popularity over the past three decades. With more and more celebrities using gestational surrogacy to build their families, along with advances in the technology of fertility treatment, and the adaptation of laws regarding surrogacy in each state, the process of surrogacy is becoming a normal part of our everyday lives.

According to statistics provided by WebMD.com, 750 babies are born in the United States annually through gestational surrogacy. Intended parents turn to surrogacy to build or increase their family size for a variety of reasons. Perhaps a woman cannot physically get pregnant for medical reasons, or it might not be medically advisable for her to become pregnant. Some intended parents have been turned down for starting families via other methods, such as adoption, because they are not married or have been deemed “too old” to be approved for adoption. These intended parents then turn to surrogacy as a viable option for starting a family. Gay and heterosexual couples alike, as well as single men and single women, have all used surrogacy to successfully begin and grow their families.

Gestational surrogacy has become a recognized, legal method of fertility treatment (although laws regarding surrogacy and surrogate compensation differ from state to state and country to country). In an article in the scholarly journal Human Reproduction, Judy Callman, the author, argues that surrogacy, as a whole, needs to be re-examined and global criteria should be drawn up to deal with its legal aspects as well as psychological and medical concerns. This would go even further towards normalizing surrogacy as a feasible option to start or build families around the world, she argues.

Leaders of the world agree. A statement by the Health Minister of the Department of Health of the United Kingdom noted that, regarding surrogacy laws, their government aims to provide a “sensible and sensitive way forward, within a framework that inspires public confidence, in an area of personal life where feelings are inevitably raw and highly charged for those involved.”

What would go even further towards normalizing surrogacy, Callman notes, is if government departments of health would work with specific, appointed agencies to oversee surrogacy. In her opinion, this would help to standardize care and set guidelines that surrogacy clinics within that region, state or country, would follow.

Advances in Fertility Treatment

Medical and technological advances in fertility treatment have made surrogacy more “commonplace” than ever before. In gestational surrogacy, the most common type of surrogacy at Simple Surrogacy and elsewhere worldwide, a surrogate mother is implanted with an embryo comprised of an egg cell and sperm cell from either the intended parents, donors or a combination of those. This embryo is created in a lab through the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process, and is transferred into the surrogate mother’s uterus via embryo transfer.

Consider the amazing technology that has allowed medical professionals to be able to foster life in this way. In gestational surrogacy, the selflessness of egg and sperm donors as well as the altruism on the part of the surrogate mother all combine to create a new life in the surrogate mother, one which is not genetically or biologically related to her. The intended parents are given the greatest gift, a new life, due to the miracle of modern medicine and advancements in fertility technology.

These processes are becoming quite normal within the medical arena. The more IVF procedures that are performed, the more technology will continue to advance and the more gestational surrogacy will increase in its “normality” in our society.

Celebrities Using Surrogacy

More celebrities have brought gestational surrogacy into the limelight, normalizing the whole process even further. When recognizable people, whom others avidly watch, follow, and love, show the world that they are building their families through surrogacy, it makes these procedures seem more “normal” in our society.

In recent years, celebrities such as the following have brought surrogacy to the public’s attention, as they announced that they were adding on to their families through gestational surrogacy:

• Kanye and Kim Kardashian West – This power couple has added not just one but two children to their growing family through gestational surrogacy—named Chicago and Psalm. It was announced that surrogacy was chosen due to Kardashian West’s pregnancy problems when carrying her first two children.
• Andy Cohen – This host and comedian announced that his first child, Benjamin Allen, was born via surrogate in 2019. His announcement helps to further normalize the gestational surrogacy process for single men.
• Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union– Another power couple who chose gestational surrogacy, this actress and basketball star added to their family when a surrogate delivered their daughter, Kaavia James, in November 2018. Union confided to the media that she chose surrogacy after having problems getting pregnant.
• Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka – This couple used an anonymous egg donor and a surrogate to add twins to their family (named Harper Grace and Gideon Scott). They provide a great example of a surrogacy process in which their sperm was used with donor eggs to create two embryos that were then implanted into a gestational surrogate, and, nine months later, twins were born!

The list goes on and on. More and more celebrities are choosing to start, or add onto, their families via gestational surrogacy. This is great news for all intended parents who have been considering surrogacy, but might be hesitant to start the process. The more celebrities who turn the spotlight on gestational surrogacy, the more normal the entire concept will become in our society.

Educating Friends and Family

The best way that you, as intended parents, can combat any potential negative feelings or remarks from friends and family regarding your decision to pursue surrogacy is to be open and honest about the process with them. The more that you can educate others in your own family, as well as friends, the more accepted and normal the surrogacy process will become in our society. If you have any questions or wish to explore surrogacy further, please don’t hesitate to contact Simple Surrogacy at 1-866-41-SURRO. We will be happy to walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have!