Transnational Surrogacy: An Overview of Legal and Ethical Issues

Surrogacy can be of various types and the difference in arrangement may imply very different ethical and legal questions. Surrogacy may be prohibited, ignored, tolerated, restricted or permitted in different parts of the world. But this diversity of the ethical and legal norms around surrogacy becomes problematic during transnational practices when the domestic laws or understanding of families often fail to accommodate the children born out of transnational surrogacy. This chapter discusses the controversies arising out of a legal fallout during transnational surrogacy and based on the lessons drawn from legal cases argues for the need for international norms. It examines the possibility of an adequate international legal framework that would better respond to the challenges of transnational surrogacy agreements.