Why would a woman decide to carry another woman’s baby? One answer is that there are times in life when a loved one is in need of help. This happens when a sister or a cousin or a close friend has suffered repeated miscarriages, or had an illness or surgery that made pregnancy unlikely. In these instances, it is not unusual for a family member or friend to step forward, saying, “I’ll carry your baby.” But what of the woman who decides that she wants to carry for strangers? What prompts her to seek, usually through an agency, an individual or couple in need of a gestational carrier?
Surrogate or gestational carrier?
First, some definitions. The words surrogate and gestational carrier are often used interchangeably. One needs to know a bit of the history of reproductive medicine in order to understand why. Prior to the arrival of IVF in 1978, it was impossible for a woman to give birth to a baby that was not her genetic offspring. Women choosing surrogacy at that time were agreeing to conceive a child with their own eggs and the sperm of the intended father. This was the kind of surrogacy that blew up and made national headlines in what became known as the Baby M case. (Short summary of a very painful story: the surrogate changed her mind, sought to parent the baby that was her genetic child, and ended up in a prolonged legal battle with the biological father and his wife.)
IVF ushered in a new form of surrogacy, one in which a woman could carry and deliver a baby with whom she had no genetic connection. Gestational surrogacy offered new hope for women born without a uterus, women with medical conditions that advised against pregnancy, and gay men. Within a short time, it all but replaced the earlier form of surrogacy. Many people viewed it as more ethical and emotionally safe than the traditional surrogacy that wrenched hearts in the Baby M case.
