The surrogate does all the heavy lifting. It's time we paid her

Renee Golland, a mother of three, is no stranger to surrogacy. She knows firsthand both the blessing and the burden being pregnant with another couple's child can bring. And while helping those who were unable to conceive their own baby gave her great joy, there's no denying the fact pregnancy comes with many risks. It's why Renee is calling for a change to Australia's surrogacy laws. She wants to see the switch from altruistic surrogacy (where the birth mother can only claim pregnancy related expenses) to legalising compensated surrogacy (currently known as commercial surrogacy, where the birth mother is paid for being a surrogate). Because right now the largest responsibility in this entire process lies with the surrogate - to grow and birth a healthy baby for someone else - yet they are not one who gains financially.

"There is no doubt there is money to be made from surrogacy," Renee stated in a recent parliamentary inquiry into this often misunderstood subject. "Usually the clinics, lawyers and counsellors are the beneficiaries of this. But not the surrogate - the woman...