What is Surrogacy?

When a woman agrees to carry a child to term for another individual, who then becomes the legal parent of the child at birth, it is called surrogate parenthood. Surrogate mothers are often used by women who are unable to conceive or carry a child to term. This typically happens through the implanting of an embryo fertilized by the male partner's sperm (this process is called "artificial insemination"). Same-sex male couples also sometimes employ surrogate mothers, often by fertilizing one of her eggs, as an alternative to becoming an adoptive or foster parent.

The surrogate mother relinquishes her parental rights the moment the child is born. The biological father automatically becomes the legal father, while the non-biological parent adopts the child. Not all states allow surrogate parent arrangements.

There are two main types of surrogacy. Traditional surrogacy involves the artificial fertilization of the surrogate mother using the father's sperm and once was the only type of surrogate parenthood arrangement available. The surrogate mother, therefore, is the biological mother of the child.

In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate mother is implanted with an embryo created from the father's sperm and his partner's (or another woman's) egg. This procedure is relatively complex, time-consuming, and expensive. The advantage of gestational surrogacy is the opportunity to have a child genetically related to both parents.