PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - M M Tieu
TI  - Altruistic surrogacy: the necessary objectification of surrogate mothers
AID  - 10.1136/jme.2008.024679
DP  - 2009 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PG  - 171--175
VI  - 35
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/35/3/171.short
4100  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/35/3/171.full
SO  - J Med Ethics2009 Mar 01; 35
AB  - One of the major concerns about surrogacy is the potential harm that may be inflicted upon the surrogate mother and the child after relinquishment. Even if one were to take the liberal view that surrogacy should be presumptively allowed on the basis of autonomy and/or compassion, evidence of harm must be taken seriously. In this paper I review the evidence from psychological studies on the effect that relinquishing a child has on the surrogate mother and while it appears that many surrogates are able to cope with relinquishment, I argue that there are good reasons, grounded in empirical evidence, to support the view that the subsequent management of the relinquishment necessarily objectifies the surrogate mother.