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CELEBLIFE MAGAZINE - FALL 2008 - SURROGACY
Monday, September 22, 2008
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| Bill Handel Director of CSP |
SURROGACY IS STEPPING OUT OF THE
SHADOWS AND INTO THE LIMELIGHT
Tammy is a 38-year-old wife and mother who lives in Southern
California. In July 2008, she gave birth to her seventh baby.
But only two of Tammy's seven births brought children into
her own home. The other five were surrogate pregnancies.
Surrogacy has been gaining acceptance in the United States,
thanks in no small part to a number of celebrities who have spoken openly about the process. Joan Lunden, Dennis Quaid, and Robert De Niro are just some of the Hollywood heavyweights who have become parents with the help of a surrogate mother. While actual figures are difficult to find, the Centers for Disease Control estimate there were approximately 550 surrogate births in 2002. And the Organization of Parents Through Surrogacy estimates that since 1976 there have been about 25,000 such births in the U.S.
There are different forms of surrogate pregnancies. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother is artificially inseminated with the sperm of the man who is the biological father. In gestational surrogacy, an embryo formed from the egg and sperm of the intended parents is implanted in the surrogate. Another form of surrogacy is when the egg from a donor is fertilized with sperm of the intended biological father or other donor and the resulting embryos are implanted into the uterus of the surrogate.
A "typical" couple choosing surrogate services will tend to be of child-bearing age and have a medical necessity for surrogacy. Women looking to hire surrogates as an option to natural childbirth so as not to lose their figures may be frowned upon at some surrogate agencies—even if they have wealth. "If a woman thinks her body is more important than a child, we tell them [the couple] to go somewhere else," says Bill Handel, director of the Center for Surrogate Parenting, Inc., with offices in California and Maryland. "They don't really want to be mothers if that's their concern." He emphasizes, however, that "the vast majority are good couples."
Surrogacy is a costly venture. While infant adoption costs, on average, between $18,000 and $25,000, surrogacy arrangements can run from $40,000 to $80,000 or more, depending on the amount of time and medical attention needed to achieve a pregnancy. "Our demographic is those who are wealthy enough to afford it. It's an expensive process," says Handel. "Actually, 80 percent of our business is international. The decline of the dollar has brought in more business worldwide: professionals, business people, celebrities those who can afford the price to make a family."
One of the motivating factors for infertile couples to choose surrogacy over adoption is the fact that the child will share genetic traits with at least one of the parents. First-time surrcgate mother Mary Gehrman is carrying a baby for a couple who initially planned to adopt because the woman had suffered from uterine cancer. They eventually chose surrogacy because they "wanted a genetic connection," says Gehrman.
While medical necessity and a desire for common genes may motivate prospective parents, the surrogate mothers have their own reasons for carrying another couple's child. According to Handel, the number-one motivator is altruism in its truest sense of the word. The financial incentives are second.
Gehrman's motivation was spiritual. "I'm a religious person," she says, "so we were more along the lines of wanting to give back in an extraordinar way and do something wonderful. While they won't do it again, she and her husband are glad they decided to do it at least once. Even though the prospective parents had to liquidate assets for this baby, she considers this surrogacy as the "big give" for her and her husband.
Kimberly Schremp, whose first surrogacy experience was in 2005 and who has a son who is 10 and a daughter who is 6, is proud to announce, am here to contribute to other people, so it is a perfect expression of who I know I am."
Tammy, whose daughters are 14 and 5 years of age, says, "I knew I wanted to do something special with my life. Surrogacy gave me the chance to do something meaningful to help others." She believes that surrogates are the most loving, giving people on the planet. "Yes," she says. "I am selfishly proud of what I've been able do for some families. Surrogates want people who can't have chil¬dren themselves to have the next-best thing. They donate the breast milk afterwards—anything to ensure that these families can have what we have."
It is not uncommon for a surrogate to have multiple preg¬nancies with the same family. This next baby for Schremp will be a completion of a family for a couple for whom she already had a set of twin girls. Tammy also completed a family with her most recent birth. Her first for that particular family was a mere 18 months prior.
Altruism aside, there is a financial side to the process, which, for the surrogates, can be quite lucrative. Fees to the surrogate range anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000, and a multiple pregnancy/birth only drives the fee higher. Tammy admits that there are perks to being a surrogate. "It gave me the chance to do some¬thing meaningful to help others. And I'll be honest it allowed me to help my own family financially and stay at home with my daughter." She goes on to say, "This last couple has really spoiled me and my husband and children rotten."
Public opinion remains divided on surrogacy. Cur¬rently, there are 26 states with laws relating to the sur¬rogacy process. Five states—Arizona, Minnesota, Nev.- York, Utah, and Washington—consider surrogacy a crime, as does Washington, D.C. Although these cases are very rare, highly publicized court battles between surrogate mothers and intended parents are one of the greatest concerns regarding surrogacy. And these cases can be very difficult to determine if the child is not entirely the biological child of the intended parents.
Despite mixed opinions, the surrogacy process has provided many couples with the opportunities to experience pregnancy and childbirth. It also allows surrogate mothers to give of themselves. Tammy, for one, is grateful that she was given the chance. And given the opportunity, "I would do again," she says.
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