Surrogacy

You are a physician specializing in family medicine. To celebrate your new job, your best friend and her husband have come to dinner. They have been having trouble conceiving and have had several failed IVF attempts. After dinner your friend takes you to one side and confides that the fertility clinic, they have been using mentioned the option of surrogacy. She has been thinking it over but is unsure about the legalities of surrogacy and so asks for your advice. She has seen several documentaries on the television about high-profile couples using a surrogate but had always assumed it would be extremely expensive.

• What is surrogacy?
• Is surrogacy lawful?
• What ethical concerns may arise from surrogacy?
• Who in law are the parents of a child born as a result of surrogacy?

Apply Theory (Specific Professional Healthcare Competencies + Clinical Medical Ethical Principles) to Practice in order to provide Optimal Patient-Centered Care (OPCC)

Clinical Ethics and Law, Second edition. Carolyn Johnston, Penelope Bradbury, Series editor: Janice Ryme