Enohumah Kingsley Osagie
In the past, when a couple did not conceive a child on their own adoption was the only alternative option for them to achieve their parenthood dreams. There are now options, such as surrogacy, available for infertile couples, singles and same s ex couples who can now achieve their parenthood dreams using reproductive technology. It is estimat ed that between 72 and 95% of couples experiencing fertility difficulty will seek medical treatment. The social elements associated with infertility, and the decline in adoption as an alte rnative to infertility, have fuelled the demand for investigation into and treatment of infertility. Su rrogacy offers an opportunity to have children in circumstances where it would otherwise not be possi ble. However, the medical advances which have enabled infertile couples the opportunity to have c hildren have greatly outpaced society’s and consequently the law’s ability to address the relat ionships and attendant rights and responsibilities which arise between the parties involved in the arr angements of surrogacy. This review aims at evaluating the current understanding of surrogacy, and discusses the role of reproductive technologies in challenging previously held definitions of paren thood. This review was therefore based on a computerised search of relevant papers from 2000 to 2006 in the EMBASE/Medline database.
Share this article