Newborn adoptive placements in the United States today have declined, assisted reproductive technologies have advanced, and the number and acceptance of gestational carriers has increased.
This means that individuals and families seeking to have children now often look to assisted reproductive technologies (commonly referred to as “ART” – and not the kind you hang on the wall or put into a display case) instead of adoption. In this new world, how does utilizing a gestational carrier generally compare to adoption as a means of family building?
- Cost: While ART costs continue to become more affordable, using a gestational carrier typically is still more expensive than adoption. This is due to the higher medical and legal costs as well as greater living assistance given to the carrier. The exception is for a compassionate surrogacy (family member or best friend gestates the child) where typically minimal reimbursements are made to the carrier.
- Availability: While the gestational carrier process may cost more, carriers are becoming more widely available while adoptive placements of newborns have declined.
- Risk: A gestational carrier becomes pregnant with the intent to gestate and place the child with the intended parents. An expectant woman with an adoption plan typically did not plan to become pregnant and, only after learning of the pregnancy, begins to consider making an adoptive placement. Thus the main risk in a gestational carrier arrangement is whether the carrier will in fact become pregnant. Alternatively, the main risk in an adoption is whether the expectant mother (and father) will stay committed to her (their) adoption plan.
- Control Over Genetics: Unless the situation involves a true surrogate (who uses her own egg), in a gestational carrier arrangement, the carrier will not be a genetic parent to the child. Instead, the carrier typically will carry the genetic parts of the intended parents or the genetic part of one intended parent combined with either donor egg or sperm. In an adoption, the placing parents are the genetic parents.
There are many more comparisons and considerations to make in the new world of family formation. This article provides general information only. For more details please be sure to contact an attorney. Article provided by Colleen M. Quinn, Esq.