Topic of discussion.. Surrogate Motherhood...

Just wanted to see everyone's thoughts on this..

IT came to mind, because I recently read a very touching story on a parenting website (wish I could remember the link ).

I feel that any woman who can become a surrogate mother is an amazing, selfless, powerful, giving and unique human being.

This one woman decided out of the blue to do this for someone, since she had experienced the amazing bond of becoming a mom.

She carried several children for this one couple. I beleive a set of twins, and 2 or 3 other separate pregnancies.

I wonder if in my lifetime, I would be able to do something like this. Although in my heart, I feel its the most amazing gift you can give someone, even a stranger, I think twice about it, and think about how difficult it must be to go through an entire pregnancy and childbirth, knowing that this child will be given to his/her true parents.

Any thoughts or feelings on this ?

I just saw something on surrogacy on Dateline (or maybe 20/20?), and it really touched me.

I don't know if I'd be so selflessly able to give of myself like that, but I think that when I'm done having my own children I'd consider it.

For a close friend or family member I'd do it without a second thought.

If your DONATE your time to this ( or rather your body) then I think it is an amazing gift. But I do not believe in paying for the use of a women's uterus. Also, there are no real laws set up for this stuff so that is why there have been problems. I remember a story about a women in England who was a paid surrogate. She ended up carrying triplets. The couple wanted her to abort all but one of the babies and she refused to do it. There was a legal battle over this, because she said she would not 'kill' the children but the couple said it should be there final decision. Anyway she gave birth and the couple only wanted to take ONE and wanted her to figure out what to do with the other two. What a total mess! And the victims are just babies.
I have always said that if my sister needed me to do this, I would without second thoughts, or if my own child needed me to do this I could.
I don't think I could go through a pregnancy for someone I didn't know though.

I posted about one of my very best friends (awhile ago), who had been having fertility problems for about 5 years and FINALLY became PG through in-vitro. If she had not gotten PG on the in-vitro attempts, I would have been her surrogate. After having Paul and experiencing the amazing power of Motherhood for myself, there was no way I could sit back and watch my friend suffer in hurt and anguish to be a Mommy for the rest of her life. I feel that it is the only thing I could really, truly do for her to make her situation better. The only other people I could imagine doing this for are my two closest cousins.

I think it is an absolutely wonderful, selfless thing. I admire those women so much.
It definitely hits home for me.

There is a true movie on one of the movie channels all the time about Deirdre Hall and what she went through with IVF and then using a surrogate. It always makes me bawl.