The medical term surrogate pregnancy has existed since the 1970s, but the concept of one woman having another’s baby is as old as time: In the Bible’s book of Genesis, the infertile Sarah gives her servant, Hagar, to her husband, Abraham, to bear a child for Sarah and Abraham to raise as their own. Today, however, the procedure is far more technical: A surrogate mother is usually hired by a couple that are unable to have a child and artificially impregnated with the couple’s embryo or with the husband’s sperm (typically the case when the woman of the couple is infertile). After giving birth, the surrogate normally gives up all parental rights to the child.

The first legal case involving surrogate pregnancy was brought by the Michigan lawyer Noel Keane (1939–1997) in 1976. An infertile couple named Tom and Jane hired a woman, Carol, to bear their baby. A decade later, Keane again stepped into the spotlight in the infamous “Baby M” trial, in which a New Jersey woman, Mary Beth Whitehead (1957–), signed a contract accepting $10,000 to carry the baby of another couple using her egg and the father’s sperm. During the pregnancy, Whitehead changed her mind and sued the couple; the court deemed the surrogacy contract illegal and granted her visiting rights.

Although the practice has grown in popularity—with an estimated 300 to 400 or more instances per year—surrogacy is still a controversial topic. Some people consider it tampering with nature; some states, such as Michigan and Arizona, penalize surrogate pregnancy or ban it altogether.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. Surrogate mothers are generally paid $20,000 to $25,000 for their services; the entire process, including medical and legal bills, can cost parents more than $100,000.
  2. Some celebrities, such as Marissa Jaret Winokur (1973–) of Hairspray, a cervical cancer survivor, have used surrogate mothers.