Debate When biological and surrogate parents dispute

[VisionofMilotic]

What if a disputes arise between prospective parents and the surrogate they employ? Let's say a surrogate mother changes her mind and wants to keep the child she originally agreed just to carry.

I am sure that there are examples of this situation arising throughout the world, but I found a case in the United Kingdom from a few of years ago where a woman didn't want to give the child to couple that hired her at the completion of her pregnancy, and the prospective fathers took it to court, which ruled in their favor. They maintained legal custody of the child, while the surrogate mother was awarded visitation rights.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ce-mcfarlane-same-sex-surrogacy-a8062546.html

Do you agree with this decision by the courts as the correct middle ground? Or does this decision undermine the rights of individuals and families who employ surrogates to help conceive a child, and should in your opinion the surrogate receive no privileges of visitation since the clients did not ask to have this stranger remain in their lives?

Or do you disagree that a child should be taken from a surrogate at all if they are no longer willing? Does the surrogate have human rights that override the contract they made waive their custodial rights, and should a surrogate be able to keep children potentially?

This is all a very grey area in my opinion that and I would love to hear all of your thoughts and positions. Don't be shy, come out and debate.

 

[gimmepie]

If you're a surrogate, you're not carrying your child. It should be that simple. You shouldn't have any parental rights or entitlements beyond that.
I do think though, that if you then don't allow any kind of visitation if the surrogate requests to be a part of the child's life in some capacity, you're a bit of a dick.

 

[Ys]

I think the decision they came to was the right one. I don't think surrogates should ha e no right, as they did carry the child for 9 months, but I agree with Gimmepie in that the child is not the surrogate mother's. Even if she changes her mind, the child is not biologically hers and the biological parents did pay for the procedure.

 

[pkmin3033]

Absolutely not. As well as not carrying their own child, in the UK surrogate parents generally get their expenses covered by the parents of the child during the pregnancy, and that's around £7000 minimum. In the US parents can pay inconvenience fees, and that's significantly more than that. Why on earth should they have any rights relating to the child when its born? They're being paid for a service.