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| Screening and Qualification | It would be a good idea to begin with the issue of public opinion. There are people, who strongly believe that no one should be allowed to use any third – party gametes or wombs with the aim of creating a family. However, on the other hand there are people, who consider that anyone should be able to have a child / children in any possible way, including third – party assisted reproduction techniques and without any regulations or limitations. Therefore, even those people, who accept the application of third – party assistance in the family building process are still divided: some of them consider that only married heterosexual couples, which have already been pre – qualified through some home study, and who are not able to have children of their own in any other way should be able to apply to the Surrogate Mother’s service. As for others, they believe that anyone, including, however not limited to fertile heterosexual couples, single persons, same – sex couples, etc, should be able to build families of their own with the help of a Surrogate Mother without any qualification or regulation.
There does not exist either wrong or right solution to the great number of different points of view, which exist nowadays, just as well as there is no single response, which would neutralize public opinion. The only thing, what should really be taken into consideration is the opinion of the participant of a surrogacy arrangement. In case if someone feels comfortable with it and if the person accepts the concept of the surrogacy agreement, and if he or she is willing to accept all its inherited ramifications, then there should be no barriers to moving forward in investigation it as a possible mean of building the family of someone’s dream.
Nowadays the legal environment is just as much different as public opinion. However, it should be kept in mind, that it is the law of the state or the country, where the Surrogate Mother lives and / or is going to deliver the child / children, that governs all legal determination of parentage as well as the enforceability of the surrogacy agreement. Because every state and every country has its own legislation, which sometimes differs greatly from the others, the couple of the Intended Parents is only as suitable as the applicable law allows them to be. For example, in some states and / or countries, in which the Surrogacy agreements are legal, only some certain types of Intended Parents are allowed to enter into surrogacy agreements; however, in other states and / or countries surrogacy may be banned, and no one would be deemed to become an Intended Parent. There are also states and / or countries, the laws of which do not mention surrogacy issues; there are no express limitations on who can become an Intended Parent. And if something is not prohibited, then it is usually considered to be allowed.
Still, without taking into consideration the absence of presence of formal restrictions, on which people can become Intended Parents, there always exist some certain practical considerations, such as a person’s age, income, health, family circumstances as well as care plan for raising and upbringing the child / children – all of them bear on how successful and appropriate the family building efforts would be. Finally, surrogacy is a cooperative procedure, which is to be implemented in such a way, which would be appropriate and healthy for all participants of the surrogacy agreement.
Without taking the absence or presence of formal legal restrictions, still there exist formal, as well as informal guidelines for any surrogacy agreement, which is further developed by certain professions and the groups, governing them. For example, there is the national ethics and practice committee in the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), which considers and proposes guidelines for responsible practice in reproductive medicine. In addition, there is also the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), which has practically similar committees and guidelines. Most responsible infertility clinics usually follow all ethical and “prudent practice” guidelines, which are promulgated by these numerous committees, still, there does not exist any kind of formal policing or enforcement mechanism, which would ensure compliance.
Moreover, there exist a great number of assisted reproduction agencies, which help potential Surrogate Mothers, Egg and Sperm Donors. There are specific programs requirements and qualifications in every agency of this kind. Because the majority of these programs do not have either national organization or regulatory committees, their practices vary greatly from one another. Still, there are two factors, which enter into the restrictions on and / or qualifications for Intended Parents, in every agency:
- The personal conscience or lack thereof of the person / persons, running these agencies;
- A great variation of liability issues, which may arise as occasional lawsuits are brought against such entities for either negligent or questionable practice.
Even though the qualification process varies greatly from one surrogacy agency to another, still there are some certain commonly used psychological and emotional issues, which bear on third – party reproduction. Among these are:
The couple of the Intended Parents is to be willing to involve and feel comfortable about the involving a “stranger” in one of the most personal events of his or her life;
The couple of the Intended Parents is to be able and has a wish to accept and raise as their own a child / children, who may have not genetic relation to on of them or even to both of them.
The gestation as well as the delivery of a child / children is considered as being unpredictable from the point of view of heredity, the couple of the Intended Parents must be flexible and willing to accept each child / children, who arrived in the result of the surrogacy agreement regardless of their number as well as physical and mental health.
Thus, before going to take part in a surrogacy arrangement, every couple of the potential Intended Parents is to be comfortable with, as well as properly prepared for any of the above mentioned issues. There is no doubt that these issues are better evaluated and addressed through the conducting of an appropriate psychological screening.
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