It's Our Right

Despite the moral or emotional issues attached to the concept of paid gestational surrogacy, I personally feel that this practice should be kept legal. I believe in Locke’s idea that “every man has a ‘property’ in his own ‘person.’ [and] This nobody has any right to but himself” (14). To me this means that we have the right to do with our bodies what we wish. That being said, it is the right of a woman to choose if she wishes to become a paid surrogate mother. A surrogate mother understands what she is agreeing to before the start of her pregnancy. Legal documents are written up to ensure that both the surrogate mother and the biological parents agree to the terms, which dictate regulations, such as the payment given to the surrogate mother for both carrying the baby to term or to a certain point in the pregnancy. The fact that these women are paid for carrying a baby that is not biologically theirs is irrelevant to the legality of this practice. If a surrogate mother is not carrying a child as a favor to a family member or close friend, it is only fair that she should be paid for the hardships she has to face during the pregnancy and birth. Furthermore, her medical bills should be paid for by the biological parents, for if they could have a child on their own, they would pay these expenses willingly. As I am aware, the surrogate mothers are fully comprehend of the risk of pregnancy, as most are required to have already had one healthy child, and go through routine doctor’s appointments both before and after conception. If the surrogate mother were to be severely at risk because of her pregnancy, she has the right to terminate it. Clearly, legal measures are taken to cover any and all instances that may arrive throughout the pregnancy. No one is forcing these women to become surrogate mothers. If anything, these women empathize with those who are unable to have children and wish to help with a couple’s situation. The government has no justifiable reason to prohibit paid gestational surrogacy. Even if many feel that paid gestational surrogacy is morally unacceptable, there is to be a separation of church and state, and therefore the government has no grounds on which to make it illegal. In short, the government should have no legal authority over what a person does or does not do with his or her body.
Information of paid gestational surrogacy found on: http://www.circlesurrogacy.com/index.html and http://www.surrogacy.com/legals/gestcontract.html