The Business of Birth: Surrogacy Grows Amid Legal Gaps and Moral Debate
The debate around surrogacy hit a boiling point over the summer following comments from the former tennis star, Martina Navratilova.
“Surrogacy is just wrong. Sometimes you can’t have it all,” the 68-year-old, who recently adopted two boys with her wife, wrote in a since-deleted post shared via X.
Ms. Navratilova later clarified, “I don’t agree with surrogacy, regardless of who is doing it,” indicating that she does not believe morally in the process. Last year, she also referred to surrogacy as something out of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” in which women — referred to as “handmaids” — forced to bear children for wealthy, elite families in a patriarchal society.
Ms. Navratilova’s blunt remarks unleashed a wave of public backlash, thrusting surrogacy into the limelight at a time when it has also played a role at the forefront of American politics. Earlier this year, the Trump administration expanded access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), promoting fertility treatments required for surrogacy as a priority for family building.
Still, this raises a pressing question: How ethical is surrogacy, and does the industry urgently need stronger legal safeguards?
