Childbearing is said to be one of the most challenging periods of a woman’s life – something many women look forward to, and something all women dread having to go through. Unfortunately, not all women are able to give birth naturally, due to medical conditions or otherwise. One wonders why new mummy Beyoncé kept her surrogacy a secret.
Surrogacy, in times long encrusted in fossils and history, arose when women unable to bear children were gave consent to other women, allowing them to be impregnated by their husbands in order to have a shot at raising a child. Today, things have become quite a bit more varied in terms of options, though third party gestation of the child is pretty much standard.
Why surrogacy?
The employment of a surrogate mother in Malaysia is not widely practiced, though it is believed to be on a rise. Reasons for such practice include the female’s inability to conceive children, medical conditions that will make it hazardous for the woman and repeated miscarriages. Some same-sex couples also opt for surrogacy.
How does it work?
There are two types of surrogacy: traditional and gestational.
In traditional surrogacy, the woman carrying the baby is the child’s genetic mother. The surrogate mother conceives after she is artificially inseminated with the intended father’s sperm. She then carries the baby to full maturity.
In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate mother carries a donated embryo. The embryo is conceived through in vitro fertilization or similar methods, of course, with the intended parents’ (you and your husband) productive cells.
In both cases, when the baby comes to term, the surrogate mother relinquishes all parental rights to the baby, and you can then adopt the child.
Is it legal?
Currently, there are no legislations against surrogacy in Malaysia, so it’s not illegal under civil law. When taking Syariah law into consideration, surrogacy is forbidden.
The main concern with law, however, is the complications that may arise if surrogate mothers decide not to give up their babies. Because by law, the mother that gives birth to a child is the child’s mother. Well, by common sense as well really, but such a reminder is in order when speaking of surrogacy. Hence, the intended mother has to adopt the child after ties are severed from the surrogate mother – this is particularly true for our country that has no official stand on surrogacy.
Probably a bigger concern (or unconcern) would be psychological lack of the childbearing process on the intended mother’s part. Not forgetting the child, how that child will take to the process of his or her birth. Then again, this may be the one and only opportunity that a woman, unable to bear children naturally, can enjoy the privileges of having a child of her own, genetically speaking.
So here comes the question again, do you support surrogacy, or have you had any experiences with this?
Why do you think Beyoncé didn’t want to tell us? http://t.co/Gpt9tYrh