International Mother of Mystery: Protecting Surrogate Mothers’ Participation in International Commercial Surrogacy Contracts

The lack of uniform international laws regarding surrogacy exposes all parties involved in surrogacy arrangements to a variety of problems. Challenges include determining the status of children, the rights of intended parents, and the protection of surrogates. Issues regarding the citizenship of babies born to surrogacy agreements tend arise when the child leaves the birth country and enters the intended country of citizenship. Overall, international surrogacy arrangements present three central problems: (1) the citizenship of children, (2) the rights of intended parents, and (3) the rights and protection of women who serve as surrogates. This Comment focuses on the third issue; specifically, the exploitation of women who serve as surrogates contrasted against their right of reproduction and right to freely enter into international surrogacy contracts