The living-womb industry: a feminist exploration of the bioethical and legal implications of cross-border gestational surrogacy

Abstract

This thesis investigates the legal and bioethical implications of gestational surrogacy, with a focus on cross-border arrangements. Despite the growing legislation around the topic, there are many gaps in the laws surrounding gestational surrogacy; namely, laws regarding the wellbeing of the mother during the gestational period. These gaps in legislation create a grey area where many human rights violations, such as coercion and human trafficking, have appeared to occur. Moreover, due to the recent, increased demand of surrogate mothers to take part in surrogacy arrangements, it is crucial now more than ever that the legislation is built to protect both parties. Therefore, this thesis aims to challenge the position of current legislation surrounding crossborder surrogacy by suggesting a change in the law’s focus would be beneficial to all parties involved from a human rights perspective. To do this, two overarching questions are addressed in this paper, with the first being how do international and national legal frameworks currently address the legal, ethical, and social challenges posed by cross-border gestational surrogacy? This question looks at international bodies and national policies engagement in the discussion around the regulation of the practice. Secondly, what are the ethical considerations surrounding the commodification and exploitation of women's bodies in the context of cross-border gestational surrogacy, and how can human rights principles provide guidance for addressing these concerns? This question enquires into the bioethical implications of surrogacy and how human rights principles may aid in shaping the future of the industry. Thus, this thesis identifies which issues are currently being addressed in legislation in addition the areas that are being neglected; suggesting that areas which are neglected or left open to interpretation are the most relevant from a human rights perspective, as these areas of ambiguity leave room for serious violations, therefore it is important that they are addressed in future legislation. This investigation will be approached through a feminist and human rights lens to ensure that the focus lies on the protection and well-being of the individual most at risk to exploitation in a surrogacy agreement, the surrogate mother. Hence, allowing the research to take into consideration an ongoing, cross-cultural, feminist debate surrounding a woman’s autonomy of their own body, in order to better understand why legislation is the way it currently is, and perhaps why this may not be the best form of protecting the surrogate mother.