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Latest Surrogacy News
Surrogate mother report
re-ignites ethical debate
Vijay Dutt
Hindustan Times January 30 2004
The report of a
43-year-old woman giving birth this week to her own twin
grandchildren after "lending out" her womb to her Ilford
(Essex)-based daughter and son-in-law has caused a major
ripple among religious groups. It would re-ignite the
debate about the booming fertility industry in this
country.
Reproductive ethics
campaigners reacted with "shock". They questioned how
the children would cope with the bizarre circumstance of
their birth. A few women questioned by Hindustan
Times said they were happy. Ethics be damned said
an old lady who is issueless. "What matters is that the
young couple have twins and they are happy. Who are we
to be judges and moral-keepers." It is a grandmother's
gift of life, said an eveninger.
The couple are said to
be ecstatic. The grandfather described the birth as a
moment of great emotion. He was happy to see tears of
joy in his daughter's eyes.
Dr Nayna Patel, the IVF
specialist behind the birth said, the couple were happy.
"They do not feel there is anything wrong with what has
happened," he is quoted saying. The fact is that they
tried their best to find an alternative but no one came
forward to help them.
Hindustan Times
learnt that the couple wanted an Indian-origin surrogate
mother and it was clear that no one was willing here.
They had tried in vain for four years to find surrogate
mother, after being told that although they were able to
use IVF treatment to produce the embryo, the woman could
not carry the babies because she had Rokitansky
syndrome. It is a rare congenital condition that causes
uterus to develop abnormally. The couple made the
decision to use the grandmother with the backing of Dr
Patel, who encouraged them to ask the young woman's own
mother. The grandmother, after mulling over what others
would say, agreed because she wanted her daughter to be
happy. The twin's father is to fly to Gujarat in a few
days and the babies are expected to be brought to
Britain in about eight weeks.
Surrogacy is legal in
the UK as long as it is unpaid, although surrogate
mothers can claim reasonable expenses, some time as much
as £10,000. An organisation Cots has helped around 470
couples with surrogacy since 1984. Its spokesperson said
he did not think there was anything wrong with someone
"close to you being the surrogate mother".
There are instances of
surrogate mothers recruited from their immediate family.
One Edith Jones, aged 51, gave birth in 1991, to a girl,
the child of her daughter Suzanne who was born without a
womb. A South African grandmother became in 1987 the
first woman to give birth to her grandchildren after IVF
treatment.
Under law in the UK the
woman carrying the child is its mother and her husband
is the father. But, once the baby is born, the intended
father and surrogate mother can sign a parental
responsibility agreement, which gives them equal rights
over the child. Six weeks later the intended parents can
apply for a parental order that gives them permanent
rights over the child.
A study at City
University in London has found that most surrogate
mothers do not suffer major emotional problems after
handing over babies. Josephine Quinavalle, the founder
of the group Comment on Reproductive Ethics feels the
case like that of the couple from Gujarat have very
uncomfortable aspects. She points out to the likely
confusion about social role since a grandmother and
mother have distinct roles. Children would be confused
when they grew up.
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