Closing the Information Gap on International Surrogacy

Beth G. had eight miscarriages before she and her partner considered in vitro fertilization (IVF). The couple also discussed adoption, but they ultimately opted for a surrogate in India. Beth and her partner visited Mumbai before signing on and felt that the gestational mothers in their agency were well cared for and decently compensated. But what did they really know about the practice of cross-border surrogacy?

In order to help close the information gap that exists around both cross-border surrogacy and commercial egg retrieval (from egg “donors”), the MacArthur Foundation recently awarded the women’s health advocacy group Our Bodies Ourselves (OBOS) and the Center for Genetics and Society (CGS) a two-year, $200,000 grant to support the collaborating organizations’ joint efforts to bring a human rights and social justice perspective to these two assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and to the rapidly growing industry they have spawned. Most countries prohibit commercial surrogacy, but in nations where it is allowed, policies vary greatly. India is the most popular destination, but prospective parents seek paid surrogates in a number of countries, including...