Psychological component of surrogate motherhood in the light of commodity market development

Keywords: surrogacy; children's rights; psychological well-being.

Abstract

Surrogacy is a popular practice, one of the types of assisted reproductive technologies aimed at helping childless couples in their desire to raise a healthy child. The modern information space has formed in surrogate mothers a set of ideas that surrogacy is a harmless, socially positive practice, an instrument of sacrifice that can help people solve their life problems. These theses are supported by a number of scientific studies that demonstrate the absence of any destructive psychological consequences for surrogate mothers. However, the results of this study suggest that such notions of surrogacy are only fragmentary and do not take into account the close biological, physiological and emotional closeness of the surrogate mother-child, which is formed during pregnancy and lasts until the end of life. This undermines the established paradigm of looking at the surrogate mother as an isolated "container" that has nothing to do with the child. As a result, surrogacy is presented as an immoral practice, and the alienation of the child becomes a form of commodity relations. In such circumstances, the moral feelings of most surrogate mothers about the services they provide are often unrealistic, fragmentary and illusory, as they do not take into account a number of factors that indicate a close relationship with the child and, consequently, the commodity nature of the relationship with "customers".

References

Alouini, S., Mesnard, L., Megier, P., & Desroches, A. (2010). P45 Ethical and legal aspects of surrogate pregnancy: opinion of French women on surrogate pregnancy. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 20, S38. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1472-6483(10)62361-9
Baslington, H. (2002). The Social Organization of Surrogacy: Relinquishing a Baby and the Role of Payment in the Psychological Detachment Process. Journal of Health Psychology, 7(1), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105302007001652
Bhatia, K., Martindale, E. A., Rustamov, O., & Nysenbaum, A. M. (2009). Surrogate pregnancy: an essential guide for clinicians. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, 11(1), 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1576/toag.11.1.49.27468
Blake, L., Carone, N., Slutsky, J., Raffanello, E., Ehrhardt, A. A., & Golombok, S. (2016). Gay father surrogacy families: relationships with surrogates and egg donors and parental disclosure of children’s origins. Fertility and Sterility, 106(6), 1503–1509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.08.013
Carone, N., Baiocco, R., & Lingiardi, V. (2017). Italian gay fathers’ experiences of transnational surrogacy and their relationship with the surrogate pre- and post-birth. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 34(2), 181–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2016.10.010
Council of Europe., & Council of Europe. (1952). The European convention on human rights. Strasbourg: Directorate of Information.
Cross-border reproductive care: a committee opinion. (2013). Fertility and Sterility, 100(3), 645–650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.02.051
DasGupta, S., Dasgupta, S. D., Nayak, P., Bailey Illinois State University, Alison, Madge Jawaharlal Nehru University, Varada, Pande University of Cape Town, Amrita, Majumdar, A., Rudrappa, S., Mohapatra Barry University School of Law, Seema, Tyson Darling Adelphi University, Marsha J., Feinberg, A., & Maisel, J. (2014). Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy in India: Outsourcing Life. Lexington Books.
Deonandan, R. (2015). Recent trends in reproductive tourism and international surrogacy: ethical considerations and challenges for policy. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 111. https://doi.org/10.2147/rmhp.s63862
Dunlop, A. L., Jack, B. W., Bottalico, J. N., Lu, M. C., James, A., Shellhaas, C. S., Hallstrom, L. H. K., Solomon, B. D., Feero, W. G., Menard, M. K., & Prasad, M. R. (2008). The clinical content of preconception care: women with chronic medical conditions. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 199(6), S310–S327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2008.08.031
Fischer, S., & Gillman, I. (1991). Surrogate Motherhood: Attachment, Attitudes and Social Support. Psychiatry, 54(1), 13–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1991.11024527
Golombok, S., Blake, L., Casey, P., Roman, G., & Jadva, V. (2012). Children born through reproductive donation: a longitudinal study of psychological adjustment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(6), 653–660. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12015
Grodin, M. A. (1991). Surrogate motherhood and the best interests of the child. Women’s Health Issues, 1(3), 135–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1049-3867(05)80116-1
Imrie, S., & Jadva, V. (2014). The long-term experiences of surrogates: relationships and contact with surrogacy families in genetic and gestational surrogacy arrangements. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 29(4), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2014.06.004
Jacobs, S. (2018). Biologists’ Consensus on “When Life Begins.” SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3211703
Jadva, V. (2003). Surrogacy: the experiences of surrogate mothers. Human Reproduction, 18(10), 2196–2204. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deg397
Jadva, V., Gamble, N., Prosser, H., & Imrie, S. (2019). Parents’ relationship with their surrogate in cross-border and domestic surrogacy arrangements: comparisons by sexual orientation and location. Fertility and Sterility, 111(3), 562–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.11.029
Johnson, L. (2019). Commercial surrogacy is the sale of children? An argument that commercial surrogacy does not violate international treaties. Washington International Law Journal, 28(3), 701–726. https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj/vol28/iss3/9
Kamper-Jørgensen, M., Biggar, R. J., Tjønneland, A., Hjalgrim, H., Kroman, N., Rostgaard, K., Stamper, C. L., Olsen, A., Andersen, A. M. N., & Gadi, V. K. (2012). Opposite effects of microchimerism on breast and colon cancer. European Journal of Cancer, 48(14), 2227–2235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2012.02.006
Karandikar, S., Gezinski, L. B., Carter, J. R., & Kaloga, M. (2014). Economic Necessity or Noble Cause? A Qualitative Study Exploring Motivations for Gestational Surrogacy in Gujarat, India. Affilia, 29(2), 224–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109913516455
Klonisch, T., & Drouin, R. (2009). Fetal–maternal exchange of multipotent stem/progenitor cells: microchimerism in diagnosis and disease. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 15(11), 510–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2009.09.002
Lepez, T., Vandewoestyne, M., & Deforce, D. (2012). Fetal microchimeric cells in blood and thyroid glands of women with an autoimmune thyroid disease. Chimerism, 3(1), 21–23. https://doi.org/10.4161/chim.19615
Loike, J. D. (2013). New Ethical Horizons in Gestational Surrogacy. Journal of Fertilization: In Vitro - IVF-Worldwide, Reproductive Medicine, Genetics & Stem Cell Biology, 01(02). https://doi.org/10.4172/2375-4508.1000109
Montrone, M., Sherman, K. A., Avery, J., & Rodino, I. S. (2020). A comparison of sociodemographic and psychological characteristics among intended parents, surrogates, and partners involved in Australian altruistic surrogacy arrangements. Fertility and Sterility, 113(3), 642–652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.10.035
Nelson, J. L. (2012). The otherness of self: microchimerism in health and disease. Trends in Immunology, 33(8), 421–427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2012.03.002
Pavlovic, Z., Hammer, K. C., Raff, M., Patel, P., Kunze, K. N., Kaplan, B., Coughlin, C., & Hirshfeld-Cytron, J. (2020). Comparison of perinatal outcomes between spontaneous vs. commissioned cycles in gestational carriers for single and same-sex male intended parents. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 37(4), 953–962. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01728-3
Pizitz, T. D., McCullaugh, J., & Rabin, A. (2013). Do women who choose to become surrogate mothers have different psychological profiles compared to a normative female sample? Women and Birth, 26(1), e15–e20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2012.06.003
Ragoné H. Surrogate Motherhood: Conception in the Heart. Boulder, CO, and Oxford: Westview Press/Basic Books, 1994.
Riddle, M. P., Michaud, S. C., Redden, Q. D., Pozza, O. R., & Scanlan, B. L. (2019). The psychological impact of surrogacy on the families of gestational carriers: implications for clinical practice. Fertility and Sterility, 112(3), e378–e379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.07.1083
Rosner, M., & Hengstschläger, M. (2013). Amniotic fluid stem cells and fetal cell microchimerism. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 19(5), 271–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2013.01.001
Sibal, K. (2016, September 11). Unequal by law. The Indian Express. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nda-government-commercial-surrogacy-regulation-bill-reproductive-technologies-3026339/
Snowdon, C. (1994). What Makes a Mother? Interviews With Women Involved in Egg Donatfon and Surrogacy. Birth, 21(2), 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-536x.1994.tb00239.x
Söderström-Anttila, V., Wennerholm, U. B., Loft, A., Pinborg, A., Aittomäki, K., Romundstad, L. B., & Bergh, C. (2015). Surrogacy: outcomes for surrogate mothers, children and the resulting families—a systematic review. Human Reproduction Update, dmv046. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmv046
Southern Surrogacy LLC. (2021, February 11). Does a Surrogate Mother Share DNA with the Baby? Southern Surrogacy. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://southernsurrogacy.com/surrogates/medical-process/does-a-surrogate-mother-share-dna-with-the-baby/
Teman, E., & Berend, Z. (2018). Surrogate non-motherhood: Israeli and US surrogates speak about kinship and parenthood. Anthropology & Medicine, 25(3), 296–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/13648470.2017.1401825
UA:Перший. (2021, November 28). Торговці мріями: як працює сурогатне материнство в Україні? | Фільм-розслідування Суспільного. YouTube. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9voR0xnV8g
United Nations. (2018, March 6). OHCHR | Surrogacy and the sale of children. OHCHR. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Children/Pages/SurrogacySummary.aspx
Valenti, L. (2018, January 18). Kim Kardashian West Explains Why a Gestational Surrogate Is Not the “Easy Way Out.” Vogue. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.vogue.com/article/kim-kardashian-gestational-surrogate-third-child-preeclampsia-kanye-west
Van den Akker, O. (2003). Genetic and gestational surrogate mothers’ experience of surrogacy. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 21(2), 145–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/0264683031000124091
Van den Akker, O. B. (2006). Psychosocial aspects of surrogate motherhood. Human Reproduction Update, 13(1), 53–62. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dml039
Williams, Z., Zepf, D., Longtine, J., Anchan, R., Broadman, B., Missmer, S. A., & Hornstein, M. D. (2009). Foreign fetal cells persist in the maternal circulation. Fertility and Sterility, 91(6), 2593–2595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.02.008
Woo, I., Hindoyan, R., Landay, M., Ho, J., Ingles, S. A., McGinnis, L. K., Paulson, R. J., & Chung, K. (2017). Perinatal outcomes after natural conception versus in vitro fertilization (IVF) in gestational surrogates: a model to evaluate IVF treatment versus maternal effects. Fertility and Sterility, 108(6), 993–998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.09.014
Yau, A., Friedlander, R. L., Petrini, A., Holt, M. C., White, D. E., Shin, J., Kalantry, S., & Spandorfer, S. (2021). Medical and mental health implications of gestational surrogacy. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 225(3), 264–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2021.04.213
Yee, S., Goodman, C. V., & Librach, C. L. (2019). Determinants of gestational surrogates’ satisfaction in relation to the characteristics of surrogacy cases. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 39(2), 249–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2019.04.001
Yee, S., Hemalal, S., & Librach, C. L. (2020). “Not my child to give away”: A qualitative analysis of gestational surrogates’ experiences. Women and Birth, 33(3), e256–e265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2019.02.003
Голинський Є. & Погоріленко А. (2020). Проект Закону «Про внесення змін до деяких законодавчих актів України щодо запобігання торгівлі людьми». // Golinsky E. & Pogorilenko A. (2020). Draft Law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings".
Гридковець, Л. М. (2016). Світ життєвих криз людини як дитини своєї сім’ї, свого роду та народу: монографія. Львів. // Gridkovets, L. M. (2016). The world of life crises of a person as a child of his family, family and people: a monograph. Lviv.
Published
2021-11-01
How to Cite
PohorilenkoA. (2021). Psychological component of surrogate motherhood in the light of commodity market development. Herald of Kyiv Institute of Business and Technology, 48(2), 52-57. https://doi.org/10.37203/kibit.2021.48.08