Research about gestational surrogacy is limited from the surrogate’s perspective, yet third party reproduction is on the rise worldwide, and specifically in Canada. The experiences, relationships, and meanings of Canadian surrogate mothers are the focus of this research. Eight women’s narratives are studied to better understand the process of their gestational surrogacy experience. The purpose of this study was to learn more about surrogacy by paying attention to how surrogate mothers story/narrate their experiences. The good surrogate discourse, which influences meaning making, was uncovered when analyzing how surrogate mothers narrate their experience within gestational surrogacy positions, roles, and procedures. Further analysis focused on discourses of motherhood, gender, biomedical practice, fertility, ethics, and legislation which actively shape the stories that can be told, and limit the identities that are available. Similarly, these discourses influence relationships as surrogates monitor their need for connection with the surrogate child. Professionals in the field of child and youth care (CYC) including family practitioners, counsellors, and anyone working with children, youth, and families need to be mindful of their practice if third party reproduction is an issue as counselling support for grief and loss may be necessary. / Graduate

This submission for a PhD by publication comprises original empirical work (Blyth 1994a, 1995a, 1995b, Blyth and Hunt 1998) and documentary analysis as a basis for undertaking critical appraisal of policy implementation and practice, both within the UK and internationally (Blyth, 1990, 1991, 1993a, 1993b, 1998a, 1998b, 1999a, 1999b, 2000a, Blyth and Cameron, 1998). In addition to the above papers, all of which have been published in academic and professional journals, the submission includes one single authored text: Infertility and Assisted Conception: Practice Issues for Counsellors, Birmingham: British Association of Social Workers (Blyth, 1995c) and one co-edited book: Truth and the Child 10 Years On: Information Exchange in Donor Assisted Conception, Birmingham: British Association of Social Workers (Blyth, Crawshaw and Speirs, 1998). This work provides a critical analysis of the concept of the welfare of the child in the context of assisted conception and an evaluation of the provision and regulation of assisted conception services, in particular third party assisted conception, including surrogacy arrangements, and the utilization of gametes (sperm and oocytes) or embryos 'donated' by a third party, usually anonymously. In addition to an overview discussion of the conceptualisation of the welfare of the child in the context of assisted conception treatment, two sub-themes are located within this work: (1) access to genetic origins information by individuals conceived as a result of sperm 'donation', oocyte 'donation' or embryo 'donation' ('donor offspring'), and (2) the implications of surrogacy arrangements for the welfare of the child.Although all the empirical work has been undertaken within the UK and much of the documentary analysis is located within a UK context, the publications presented here also draw on international perspectives.

This thesis explores surrogate motherhood using Christian ethics within a relational framework. A surrogate mother is a woman who has a child for a commissioning couple who are usually infertile. Chapter one explores how surrogacy is presented in three secular and three Church reports by focusing upon the surrogate, the commissioning couple and the child. The key theological and ethical objections to surrogacy are briefly explored: that it undermines motherhood, involves baby selling, coercion, exploitation and commodification. Chapter two analyses motherhood according to three secular feminists and three theologians. The secular feminists are criticised for not recognising the complexity of motherhood. By contrast, motherhood in Christianity is presented as multidimensional. Chapter three analyses whether paid surrogacy commodifies, exploits and coerces the participants. Theologically the chapter explores human beings as created in the image of God and as having dignity, which can mean that payment does not always have to lead to commodification, exploitation or coercion. Chapter four explores whether paid surrogacy involves baby selling. Theologically the chapter explores the concepts of the self and other in Augustine and Aquinas. It also explores agape in Anders Nygren and Gene Outka, arguing that self-interest and altruism can co-exist with care for the self and the other in a relational framework without detriment. Comparisons are made with blood donation to suggest that paid and unpaid surrogacy can operate together without paid surrogacy being regarded as baby selling or the purchase of parenthood. Finally, chapter five outlines three models towards surrogacy: a contract model, an adoption model and my relational approach, influenced by Louis Janssens’ personalism. My relationalism aims for a more sophisticated ontology of the relationship between the self and the other and calls for various solutions in a surrogacy custody dispute.

If altruistic surrogacy should be legal in Sweden, laws concerning screening of the parents should be mandatory and adoption should be promoted as an alternative to surrogacy to a larger extent. Both in surrogacy and adoption the best interest of the child should be a priority, but parents regardless of sexuality, income and to some extent age, should qualify as long as they can prove their ability as parents.

Surrogate motherhood is considered one of the most disputed and controversial method of assisted reproduction available to childless couples. This contemporary topic assists rising numbers of couples with reproductive disorders. Professional and nonprofessional discourse on the topic of surrogacy has grown in the Czech Republic since 2009. This discussion has contributed to increasing destigmatisation of the parties that make use of the option of surrogate motherhood. As a result, we have first- hand accounts on how the Czech legal system in its current form responded. This diploma thesis presents an overview of the methods of assisted reproduction and their history as well as the legal basis for assisted reproduction in international, European and national law. Furthermore, the thesis touches upon the topic of surrogate motherhood with a view to identifying the risks and dangers of surrogate motherhood both in general and with a focus on the specific legal issues in the Czech Republic. In its conclusion it examines the politico-legal developments regarding surrogate motherhood both on the level of the European Union as well as the Council of Europe. The diploma thesis aims to map the legislation of surrogate motherhood in the Czech legal system including the first contact of the parties, the validity and...

Charles University in Prague Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Kralove Department of biological and medical sciences Drahoslava Machová Supervisor: PhDr. Zdeňka Kudláčková, Ph.D. Title of diploma tehesis: Bioethics V - Surrogate motherhood - the specifics of individual areas Background: Creating a basic overview of bioethics and its principles. Handle the issue of surrogate motherhood Institute. Main findings: In this thesis we dealt with issues of bioethics, bioethical principles and in particular the issue of surrogacy. Above all, we focused on fundamentals of bioethics, its principles and interconnection with the law. Furthermore, we describe surrogacy institute, its history and progress. Another part is devoted to the current legislation, Surrogacy in the Czech Republic and comparison with the legislation in selected countries around the world. The thesis also includes recommendations of medical ethics in the process of surrogacy. In conclusion, we have focused on the risks that may occur. Conclusions: Use of surrogate motherhood is one of the few ways infertile couple may obtain offspring. Undoubtedly it is a problem that needs to be continued to explore and modify. It is also necessary to pay great attention to the ethical, legal and psychological aspects that are associated with this institute....

This study is based on how politicians’ standars were represented in the debate about assisted reproduction of single women and surrogacy in Sweden. And also which arguments the politicians performed on both issues. The study was based on the protocol 2011/12:91 from the parliamentary debate in Sweden. The aim of the study was to examine political standards is identified according to parenting and family in the assisted reproduction and surrogacy debate. The empirical material has been analyzed through social constructivism as a theory and standard critical perspective related to normality. Argument analysis was used as a method to identify pro et contra arguments on the issues. Two theses from the protocol 2011/12:91 was identified and analyzed. The first thesis was "Every child has a right to have both a mother and a father" and the second thesis was, "Every human should have an opportunity to have children". Pro arguments to the first thesis was that a child has a right to know its genetic origin and to be nursed by both its parents as far as possible. They meant that the traditional family constellation with a mother and a father is a good family to raise a child within. Contra arguments in this issue also meant that the child has a right to know its genetic origin, and therefore should get this right in Sweden to reduce the risk that mothers get infertility treatment abroad with a donor that is anonymous. Additional contra arguments in this thesis was that the most important thing for a child is to grow up in a family with love and care, regardless of family constellation. Pro arguments to the last thesis, "Every human should have an opportunity to have children" was that it is a biological instinct to reproduce and politicians should therefore not stand in the way by prohibiting single women to get assisted reproduction. Contra argument to this thesis was that parenting is an impossible question to fairness. They meant that if you do not have the physical ability to have children, society should not help you with this matter. They also meant that if we legislate surrogacy in Sweden it is a big risk that women become a commodity in the matter. And this risk outweigh parents’ desire to have children.

Magister Legum - LLM / The development of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has radically changed the landscape of the conventional family. It has permitted a platform for the creation of families and family structures with tremendous diversity in their demographic characteristics. It has also changed the way in which individuals become parents. The advances in medical and scientific fertility treatments have meant that for many the dream of having a child of their own has now become a real possibility. Public perception and attitudes towards infertility treatments and more latterly surrogacy has changed tremendously and becoming increasingly acceptable. While there are those who have celebrated the advancement in reproductive technologies and potential freedoms that this may contain, ART has opened the proverbial Pandora's Box amongst scholars and the public policy makers, principally in the area of rights.

<p>Surrogacy is an emerging phenomenon in Canada, facilitated by societal changes and advances in reproductive technologies. Although surrogacy offers individuals an alternative form of family creation, it is rife with issues of inequality and social injustice based on gender, class, age, sexuality and geographical location. These social justice issues are evident in surrogacy discourses, which have influenced public perception on surrogacy and particularly in relation to women and their role as mothers. This exploratory research will examine these discourses and their representations of women and motherhood through a critical discourse analysis combined with a theoretical framework drawing upon post-structural feminist, social constructionist and social justice theories.</p> <p>Surrogacy discourses have been influenced by patriarchal notions of women and motherhood which evolved during time from focusing on issues of paternity, to women’s rights, to children’s bests interests and finally to family interests. Although the rhetoric surrounding surrogacy has changed, the discourses have always contained oppressive norms concerning women and their bodies. With the rise of global markets and capitalism, these oppressive discourses have taken on global implications for families involved in surrogacy arrangements. These implications beckon the attention of the field of social work on various individual, institutional, structural and global levels through program development, research and advocacy. This research will highlight these implications and will explore recommendations for the social work field in the hopes of providing avenues for social workers to act as agents of social change.</p> / Master of Social Work (MSW)

My thesis exhibition Double Distance is an installation of paintings and sculptures exploring my changing relationship with myself and with my mother as she succumbs to a degenerative brain disease. Through the intersection of surrogate life-size figures made from found objects alongside and within paintings of hugging bodies, the exhibition reveals the simultaneous enmeshment and separation that occurs in caring for my mother. In repeating similar figures within and outside the painted surface, the exhibition reflects on the act of caregiving and the desire to reproduce what is loved and that which has been lost. The works included in the exhibition not only serve as preemptive memorials to my mother, but they also stand as monuments to resilience. The resulting exhibition Double Distance highlights the challenges of holding on and how sculpture and painting can serve as proxies for reconnection.