Comparative Responses to Surrogate Motherhood

I. Introduction II. The Current Status of Surrogate Motherhood ... A. The Basic Transaction ... B. The Legality of Surrogate Motherhood Agreements … 1. Adoption Laws ... a. Prohibiting the Payment of Fees ... b. Restrictions on Private Adoptions and Parental Consent ... 2. Laws Regulating Artificial Insemination and Presumptions of Paternity ... 3. Public Policy III. Comprehensive Legislation: American, Canadian, British, and Australian Proposals ... A. United States ... B. Canada ... C. United Kingdom ... 1. The Warnock Report ... 2. The Surrogacy Arrangements Act ... D . Australia IV. The Ethics of Surrogate Parenting ... A. Consequentialist Objections to Surrogate Motherhood ... 1. Potential Harm to the Child ... 2. Potential Harm to the Parties ... a. The Interests of the Commissioning Couple ... b. The Interests of the Surrogate Mother ... 3. Potential Harm to Society .... B. Nonconsequentialist Objections to Surrogate Motherhood V. Guidelines for Resolving Conflicts: Damages and Specific Performance ... A. Controlling the Surrogate\u27s Prenatal Conduct ... 1. Promoting the Healthy Development of the Fetus … 2. Regulating the Abortion Decision ... B. Custody Disputes VI. Conclusio