01.
This practice exists
It is called surrogacy.
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It allows people who can't have children to be biological parents.
•
9%
couples worldwide
are estimated
to be infertile
Glossary | Part I |
| altruistic surrogacy | Altruistic surrogacy means a practice whereby a woman agrees, for no financial gain, to become pregnant and bear a child for another person or persons to whom she intends to transfer the child’s care at, or shortly after, the child’s birth. (Specific expenses incurred, associated with the pregnancy and birth, may be reimbursed). (Australian Department of Health) |
| commercial surrogacy | When the surrogate receives compensation beyond the reimbursement of medical and other reasonable expenses. Commercial Surrogacy is usually via the Gestational method. (wikipedia) |
| fertility tourism | Fertility tourism or reproductive tourism is the practice of traveling to another country for fertility treatments. It may be regarded as a form of medical tourism. (sensagent dictionary) |
| gestational carrier | A woman who carries a pregnancy with an agreement that she will give the offspring to the intended parent(s). Gametes can originate from the intended parent(s) and/or a third party (or parties). (WHO) |
| gestational surrogacy (gs) | When the intended mother is not able to carry a baby to term due to hysterectomy, diabetes, cancer, etc., her egg and the intended father's sperm are used to create an embryo (via ivf) that is transferred into and carried by the surrogate mother. The resulting child is genetically related to its parents while the surrogate mother has no genetic relation. (wikipedia) |
| gestational surrogacy & egg donation (gs/ed) | If there is no intended mother or the intended mother is unable to produce eggs, the surrogate mother carries the embryo developed from a donor egg that has been fertilized by sperm from the intended father. With this method, the child born is genetically related to the intended father and the surrogate mother has no genetic relation. (wikipedia) |
| gestational surrogacy & donor embryo (gs/de) | If there is no intended father or the intended father is unable to produce sperm, the surrogate mother carries an embryo developed from the intended mother's egg (who is unable to carry a pregnancy herself) and donor sperm. With this method, the child born is genetically related to the intended mother and the surrogate mother has no genetic relation. (wikipedia) |
| gestational surrogacy & donor sperm (gs/ds) | When the intended parents are unable to produce either sperm, egg, or embryo, the surrogate mother can carry a donated embryo (often from other couples who have completed IVF that have leftover embryos). The child born is genetically related neither to the intended parents nor the surrogate mother. (wikipedia) |
| infertility | a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. (who) |
| intended parents | The person or couple who commissions a surrogate to carry and give birth to a baby on their behalf. The intended parents may or may not be genetically related to the child. (Australian Department of Health) |
| medical tourism (health tourism) | The practice of travelling abroad in order to receive medical treatment. (Oxford Dictionary) |
| surrogate mother | A woman who bears a child on behalf of another woman, either from her own egg fertilized by the other woman’s partner, or from the implantation in her womb of a fertilized egg from the other woman. (Oxford Dictionary) |
| traditional surrogacy (TS) | This involves naturally or artificially inseminating a surrogate mother with the intended father's sperm via IUI, IVF or home insemination. With this method, the child is genetically related to its father and the surrogate mother. (wikipedia) |
| traditional surrogacy & donor sperm (ts/ds) | A surrogate mother is artificially inseminated with donor sperm via IUI, IVF or home insemination. The child born is genetically related to the sperm donor and the surrogate mother. (wikipedia) |
Demand it
for surrogacy in India
02.
Only few countries in the world allow commercial surrogacy.
India is one of them.
•
countries that
allow surrogacy
Focus Title | Surrogacy phenomenon in the world |
| legenda |
| Commercial surrogacy is legal | Altruistic surrogacy is legal |
| Surrogacy is banned | No policy |
| No policy - allowed |
NOTE |
02.
Compared to the U.S.A., India offers lower prices and its professionals are highly skilled.
•
INDIA
surrogacy price
25,000 $
•
U.S.A.
surrogacy price
70,000 $
02.
For this reason many couples go to India to make use of this service.
This process goes under the name of surrogacy tourism.
•
2,000
foreign babies born
through surrogacy
each year in india
•
1,400
american babies born
through surrogacy
each year in U.S.A.
Focus Title | Surrogacy timeline and law |
| legenda |
| Amount of articles related to surrogacy per season in India | google trends surrogacy on .co.in |
| Amount of articles related to surrogacy per season in the US | google trends surrogacy on .com |
| Law events |
NOTE | The topic of surrogacy became very popular on the web in recent times in the U.S. and India. The practice developed rapidly and the demand grew constantly. Especially mediatic attention around surrogacy’s controversial cases rose, probably also due to the participation of Dr Patel at Oprah’s in October 2007. (see Report for further info). |
03.
If you are going through a gestational surrogacy process you are not supposed to have sex.
In a lab an egg gets fertilized and implanted in the surrogate’s womb: there is no genetical heritage with the surrogate.
•
sperm
•
egg
•
uterus
Glossary | Part II |
| Artificial insemination procedure | A procedure where human sperm are introduced, by a non-coital method, into the reproductive system of a woman but which is not, and is not an integral part of, an invitro fertilisation procedure (Australian Department of Health) |
| Assisted hatching | or perforated by chemical, mechanical or laser methods to assist separation of the blastocyst. (who) |
| Assisted reproductive technology (ART) | All treatments or procedures that include the in vitro handling of both human oocytes and sperm, or embryos, for the purpose of establishing a pregnancy. (who) |
| Cryopreservation | The freezing or vitrification and storage of gametes, zygotes, embryos or gonadal tissue. (who) |
| Embryo | The product of the division of the zygote to the end of the embryonic stage, eight weeks after fertilization. (This definition does not include either parthenotes - generated through parthenogenesis nor products of somatic cell nuclear transfer.) (who) |
| Embryo donation | The transfer of an embryo resulting from gametes (spermatozoa and oocytes) that did not originate from the recipient and her partner. (who) |
| Embryo transfer (ET) | the procedure in which one or more embryos are placed in the uterus or Fallopian tube. (who) |
| Embryo transfer cycle | an ART cycle in which one or more embryos are transferred into the uterus or Fallopian tube. (who) |
| Fivet | In vitro fertilization with embryo transfer (oxford dictionary), In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an ART procedure that involves extracorporeal fertilization. (who) |
| Hysterectomy | a surgical operation to remove all or part of the womb. (Oxford Dictionary) |
| Initiated cycle | an ART cycle in which the woman receives specific medication for ovarian stimulation, or monitoring in the case of natural cycles, with the intention to treat, irrespective of whether or not follicular aspiration is attempted. (who) |
| Ovulation Induction (OI) | pharmacological treatment of women with anovulation or oligo-ovulation with the intention of inducing normal ovulatory cycles. (who) |
| Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) | analysis of polar bodies, blastomeres or trophectoderm from oocytes, zygotes or embryos for the detection of specific genetic, structural and/or chromosomal alterations. (who) |
| Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) | analysis of polar bodies, blastomeres or trophectoderm from oocytes, zygotes or embryos for the detection of aneuploidy, mutation and/or DNA rearrangement. (who) |
03.
In India, most people don’t know anything about this practice and how it works.
This problem arises a social stigma of which the surrogate mothers are victims.
•
embryo
implantation
Focus Title | Social stigma |
| legenda |
| (1) Constructing Conceptions: The Mapping of Assisted Reproductive Technologies in India (English, 2010) |
| (2) Birthing a Market: A Study on Commercial Surrogacy (English, 2012) |
NOTE | Sama was registered in 1999 by a group of women with a history in feminist activism and health. Sama’s engagement with issues of women and health evolved in the context of the autonomous women’s movement and seeks to locate the concerns of women’s health and well being in the larger context of socio-historical, economic and political realities. |
04.
The features the intended parents must satisfy are only related to their sexual orientation and conjugality.
•
LGBT couples,
from 2013 in India are no longer recognized
•
hetero couples
have to been married
from at least 2 years
05.
On the Indian territory there are more than 3,000 clinics providing assisted reproductive technologies (ART).
•
6%
(178) of all the clinics
existing in India are actually certified by the Indian Government
05.
MANY OF THESE CLINICS, IN ORDER TO FIND SURROGATE MOTHERS, DEVELOPED SCOUTING ACTIVITIES.
THIS PRACTICES, AND MANY OTHERS RELATED TO THE SURROGACY BUSINESS, ARE NOT REGULATED BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT.
money earned by scout
agents for each new
surrogate mother
•
800 $
•
800 $
•
800 $
06.
THE AMOUNT OF MONEY A SURROGATE MOTHER
CAN EARN IS BIG ENOUGH FOR HER TO BUY
A NEW HOUSE AND TO PAY FOR HER CHILDREN’S EDUCATION.
surrogate mother
money power index
•
7,000 $
India
•
40,000 $
U.S.A.
07.
BY SIGNING THE AGREEMENT,THE SURROGATE MOTHER LOSES EVERY RIGHT OF CHOICE ON HER PREGNANCY AND THE BABY.
pregnancy rights
a surrogate mother
cedes to the clinic
•
abortion
delivery methods
caesarian section
hormonal treatment
fertility drugs treatments
multiple embryo implantation
07.
MOST INDIAN WOMEN WHO SIGN A SURROGACY AGREEMENT ARE ILLITERATE.
THEY DON’T COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO GO THROUGH.
•
46%
of Indian women
are illiterate
•
26%
of Indian men
are illiterate
08.
SOME CLINICS’ AGREEMENTS DECLARE THAT THE SURROGATE MOTHER HAS TO LIVE IN DORMITORIES DURING THE WHOLE PREGNANCY.
THEY ARE GOING TO STAY AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILIES, LOSING THEIR INDEPENDENCE.
HOWEVER, DURING THIS TIME THEY CAN RECEIVE THE BEST MEDICAL CARES AND EDUCATION.
•
100
pregnant women lived together
in the Akanksha Infertility Clinic’s dorm (as reported by the BBC documentary “House Of Surrogates”)
09.
THIS MEANS THAT NEITHER THE CLINIC NOR THE INTENDED PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE OF TAKING CARE OF THE SURROGATE AFTER THE DELIVERY HAS TAKEN PLACE.
just a few of the psychological outcomes that a mother
can suffer after delivery
•
stress
tension
frustration
anger
fear
depression
mood
swings
sadness
cry
anxiety
