ETHICAL ASPECTS OF COMMERCIAL SURROGACY
ETHICAL ASPECTS OF COMMERCIAL SURROGACY

Summary/Abstract: Surrogacy is an initiated process, whereby intended parents wish to have a child by having an embryo carried in another woman’s womb and, after the birth, the baby is given to the intended parents. In Israel, giving birth and motherhood are perceived to great extent as a significant, essential and natural component of female identity and the existence of children is perceived as a vital and central element of couple-hood and family. The Israeli society encourages fertility and family expansion. This is illustrated by the support of surrogacy and fertility treatments pursuant to the Israeli Embryo Carrying Agreement Law (Agreement Authorization and Status of the Newborn Child) legislated in 1996. On the other hand, the government limits the supply of contraceptives that are included in the authorized list of medicines, pursuant to the State Health Insurance Law (Ministry of Health, 1994). Surrogacy constitutes a solution for people who wish to give birth to a child but they are unable to do so. The issue raises ethical dilemmas in the global village in which we are living. This dilemma has become more prominent in the present age, due to the corona virus crisis that entailed cancelling all flights and forcing each country to close its borders to foreign travelers. In this study, the aim is to explore and comprehend the process of surrogacy according to the economic sociological theory, called the agency theory; the relationships between the parties to the agreement; and the ethical issues stemming from this issue.

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