What is surrogacy?
What does surrogacy consist of?
What does surrogacy consist of? Gestational surrogacy or surrogate motherhood is a technique of assisted reproduction by which a baby is gestated with a woman (let us clarify that the term surrogate mother is a term that should not be used) who is not be the biological mother, since the implanted embryo has no genetic link with her.
Every year hundreds of couples and single people, turn to surrogacy to make their life's dream come true: to become parents.
Surrogacy is a complicated process in which the most advanced medicine, the laws of each country (almost always contradictory or incompatible), different languages and customs are mixed. A complicated process in which nothing can be left to chance. It is not a job for "amateurs" with good intentions but little experience.
Surrogacy, also commonly known as surrogate motherhood, is a Human Assisted Reproduction Technique in which a woman, called gestational carrier (or surrogate) offers her gestational capacity to another person or future parents (also called Intended Parents) so that they can fulfill their dream of becoming parents.
The surrogacy process is performed through an In Vitro Fertilization or IVF, in which the gametes from the sperm of the male partner and the eggs of the future mother become one. In the event that any of these members cannot provide their gametes, they can resort to a gamete donation, either from an egg and/or sperm donation in the country where the surrogacy process is performed.
Why choose Gestlife for surrogacy?
Surrogacy
Surrogacy
You are considering other alternatives to carry out your surrogacy process. Often with the healthy intention of saving money, many parents consider the possibility of doing the surrogacy process themselves without the help of professionals and using an unprofessional surrogacy agency with cheaper prices.
Consider for a moment with a divorce, a car accident lawsuit which you were at fault, or to cite a wrongful dismissal… would you dare to be your own lawyer? Obviously, the answer is "NO." So why for surrogacy?
Every 3 or 4 months we receive calls from parents that did surrogacy alone trapped in a country and do not know how to cross the border with their child. In many cases, they encounter difficulties derived from basic errors of those who do not know the legal process of surrogacy. The consequences are dire, with extended stays, sometimes for months in a country with doubts of ever registering the child… etc. Cheap is expensive.
Carrying out a surrogacy process with GestLife is synonymous with trust. Your process will be in the hands of true professionals with extensive experience in surrogacy with more than 500 happy parents behind them every year, with all the guarantees.
If you wish to make an appointment with us by phone (free of charge), without any obligation, you can do so by CLICKING HERE.
What does surrogate mother mean?
Surrogate mother or surrogate pregnancy
What is a surrogate? Is it correct to ask what a surrogate is? The surrogate mother occurs when a woman carries the pregnancy by surrogacy or surrogate pregnancy and gives birth to a baby that genetically and legally belongs to the biological parents. The surrogate mother in a surrogacy process is therefore the woman who, by mutual agreement with a person or couple who will be the intended parents, accepts to have the embryo previously generated and transferred to her uterus by Assisted Reproduction in order to become pregnant. She carries it to term and give birth to a baby in substitution of the intended parents.
The term "surrogate" or "surrogate mother" is used refer to the woman who carries out the surrogacy process. The correct term is gestational surrogate, which is the woman who carries out a surrogate pregnancy in substitution of the biological parents who are unable to carry out a child birth. The gametes may originate from the intended parents and/or third parties.
This is called surrogacy, gestational surrogacy, gestational surrogacy, surrogate motherhood, surrogate motherhood, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, surrogate mother, etc.
Surrogate mother
What is a surrogate?
The woman who performs the surrogacy process to be a "surrogate mother" to the people who wish to become the biological parents. "Surrogate mother," a woman who carries a surrogate pregnancy having agreed that she will deliver the baby to the intended parents. The gametes may originate from the intended parents and/or third parties.
Surrogate womb
Surrogacy and surrogate motherhood
For many years we have been hearing an ethical-linguistic-moral debate about what to call or name this Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), (Is surrogacy correct?).
Surrogacy pregnancy or surrogate pregnancy
Why do they call it surrogacy
There are different terminologies, surrogacy or gestational surrogacy, a term used by the World Health Organization (WHO). Instead of surrogate or surrogate mother
Feminist groups or collectives against this technique often use the term surrogate womb or surrogate mother, in a derogatory way, instead of surrogacy or gestational surrogacy, Concluding that it is the use of the woman's body in exchange for money.
It is clear that a woman is not a thing that can be rented, nor is the uterus. Surrogate women are women who do not cede their uterus, but rather their capacity to gestate to people who wish to form a family.
If you wish to make an appointment with us by phone (free of charge), without any obligation, you can do so by CLICKING HERE.
In order to choose a surrogacy agency, several things must be taken into account. First of all, let us clarify that the corporate name "surrogacy agency" does not exist. That is why some surrogacy agencies have it as their corporate description like "construction, installations, maintenance, import export” etc…
Surrogacy legislation
Where is surrogacy legal?
Regarding Gestlife, first and foremost, we are a law firm. We are not an agency. We belong to the American group INVESTMEDICAL. We have our own offices in 7 countries, and our own assisted reproduction clinic. We are the only company with our own clinic, the rest of the companies in the sector are simply intermediaries or commission agents, and we know this well because in the past we were also. Gestlife is also the first company in Europe that does surrogacy with more than 400 parents a year.
That said, we are a law firm with our subsidiaries carrying out the Surrogate process in which we have three main obligations to you:
• The first: to avoid getting into legal trouble. If you come to us, it is to avoid problems and legal surprises.
• The second, of course, is to ensure that you become the parents of a healthy child or children. This is essential.
• Third, if we can help you save money, we would rather you spend it on your children than on the middleman.
Of course, we want you to go through the process with us, Ms. XXXXXXXXXXX. We make our living from it and your future children would be born from it.
But as we work with many countries, we are not obliged to recommend a destination because we have no other destination. That happens to the intermediary agencies that can only offer you one destination and their sales policy is to speak ill of other countries because they have no other destination to offer you.
Therefore, we will find the best country that suits your needs, with all the legal guarantees, and at the lowest possible cost.
Now, if I may, I would like to know a little more about your personal situation.
Where is surrogacy legal?
Surrogacy legal countries
If we want to do a surrogacy process, we have to go abroad. A surrogacy process can be affected by many factors. And that is why there is no better country for surrogacy. There are several factors to take into account, among them:
• Type of family:
There are countries that only allow surrogacy for heterosexual couples, while other countries also allow surrogacy for homosexual couples and singles.
• Marital status:
Just as there are countries that prohibit surrogacy for gays, there are also countries that do not allow surrogacy for heterosexual couples who are not married, as is the case in Ukraine.
• Surrogacy-type legislation:
In Canada, for example, surrogacy is altruistic and very well regulated, but intended for Canadians, not for foreigners. In a surrogate pregnancy in Canada, no contact is allowed. So if you do a surrogacy in Canada, you will have to go alone to pick up your baby and sign all the legal documentation. No employee at your surrogacy agency will be able to accompany you because he/she would risk a prison sentence. So if any problem arises, you will be on your own and you will only be able to receive advice by phone or e-mail.
• Medical reasons:
In most countries where surrogacy processes can be performed, it is required to prove that there is a medical problem that prevents the mother from carrying her child, without any risk to her or the baby.
• Price of treatment:
It is not the same to do a surrogacy in the United States, where there is no social security, than, for example, in the Ukraine or Albania. Many gay couples who want to resort to surrogacy end up discarding it thinking that they can only do it in the United States, when, in fact, it is also possible to do a surrogacy process for gay couples in Albania, for example.
• Determination of affiliation:
There are countries that give a court ruling that the child born from surrogacy is the child of his or her parents, and in others, the birth certificate is obtained. When you arrive in your country of origin, the process of affiliation is different depending on whether the surrogacy was performed from one country to another.
• Need for egg and/or sperm donation:
There are couples in which both members can contribute their genetic material, but others they cannot, as is the case in surrogacy for gays or for couples with some types of fertility problems.
• Choice and relationship with the pregnant woman:
There are couples with fertility problems for whom it is difficult to cope with the fact that they have had to resort to surrogacy due to the impossibility of pregnancy. Other couples, on the other hand, want to have a very close relationship with their surrogate. In both cases, it is important that you at least get to know the surrogate, let alone to make sure that she is treated in the conditions she deserves as a human being. Secondly, to make sure that it is always the same one. There are agencies that do not allow you to have a relationship with the surrogate because they have her in an apartment with many others in subhuman conditions. By not giving you her details, they can afford to change her without you knowing if there is a problem.
• Willingness to travel:
It is not the same to do a surrogacy process in a European country such as Greece or Ukraine, which are only a few hours away by plane, than in the United States. There we also offer surrogacy programs but it would be absurd to deny that the trips are longer and require more availability.
If you wish to make an appointment with us by phone (free of charge), without any obligation, you can do so by CLICKING HERE.
Types of surrogacy
What types of surrogacy are there?
In reference to types of surrogacy we can divide surrogacy into to following:
Commercial surrogacy or altruistic surrogacy.
Traditional Surrogacy or Gestational Surrogacy
Extrafamilial surrogacy or intrafamilial surrogacy
What is commercial surrogacy?
Types of Surrogacy
In commercial surrogacy, the surrogate mother receives financial compensation for carrying out the surrogacy process.
There are countries that have a specific legislation that gives the right of the biological parent or parents to carry out a surrogacy process. These legislations transfer the rights over the child from the surrogate to the biological parents.
These countries have laws drafted by their parliaments or subsequently modified by rulings of high courts such as the Constitutional Court, allowing certain persons to carry out the processes.
Although we do not like the term "commercial surrogacy", it refers to the one in which a payment is given to the surrogate, a compensation agreed between both parties, without setting legal limits. Altruistic surrogacy occurs when a woman wishes to carry out the surrogacy process without financial compensation. In most of the countries where this type of altruistic surrogacy is performed and agreements are signed, the surrogate has a close relationship with the intended parents (family member/close friend).
What is traditional surrogacy?
Types of surrogacy
Continuing with the types of surrogacy, it is also classified according to the genetic relationship, we usually speak of gestational or full gestational surrogacy (ART) and traditional or partial surrogacy (RMA). Traditional surrogacy is highly discouraged and prohibited in many countries where surrogacy is legal. A surrogate pregnancy is one in which the surrogate mother also contributes her genetic material to the surrogacy process, so she has a genetic link with the baby.
Due to the legal and emotional complexities, gestational surrogacy is the usual and recommended option.
On the other hand, total or gestational surrogacy is the one that is mostly performed nowadays, which is the one in which the genetic material for the surrogacy is provided by the intended parents or in the event that one of the two cannot provide it, by an anonymous donor by either eggs or sperm. Total surrogacy is the one performed in almost all cases of surrogacy nowadays and many countries even include it in their legislation on surrogacy and not a traditional or partial surrogacy.
Altruistic surrogacy
What is altruistic surrogacy?
Altruistic surrogacy occurs when the surrogate mother does not receive specific financial compensation for the surrogacy process beyond the expenses derived from the process.
Altruistic surrogacy, which is the surrogacy model in Canada or Greece for example, is a type of surrogate pregnancy in which the law establishes a limit on the compensation that the surrogate can receive, to prevent the surrogate from enriching herself with the process. In altruistic surrogacy medical expenses, sick leave, maternity clothes and any other expenses derived from the surrogacy process are usually covered. In many cases, compensation is even given to the surrogate even if it is a limited amount in order not to violate the law.
If you wish to make an appointment with us by phone (free of charge), without any obligation, you can do so by CLICKING HERE.
Extrafamilial and intrafamilial surrogacy?
Surrogacy and types of surrogacy
Two other types of surrogacy are those that derive from the relationship between the surrogate and the mother. In extra-familial surrogacy, the surrogate is a person outside the intended parents' family such as a friend. In the case of intrafamilial surrogacy, we are talking about a mother, sister or any other person with a family relationship with the intended parents, who decides to be their surrogate.
As we have already mentioned, surrogacy involves a woman becoming pregnant and giving birth to the baby of a couple who wants to have a child but cannot. The surrogate is the woman who gestates and gives birth to the child in substitution of the future parents.
The choice of each type of surrogacy is usually implemented by the laws of the countries where we are going to carry out this process as well as the laws of affiliation.
What is affiliation in surrogacy?
Affiliation in surrogacy?
The affiliation in surrogacy or surrogate pregnancy in natural pregnancies and adoption, is the legal relationship that is established between parents and children and from which a series of rights and obligations are derived.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), based in Strasbourg issued two judgments essentially identical in by case. It condemned the French state for preventing the registration of a child born through surrogacy, thus forcing them to finally be registered and their affiliation recognized. These are the Mennensson and Labasse cases which have laid a very important foundation for surrogacy in Europe.
The ECTHR considered that this alleged extraterritorial effectiveness of such rules violates the fundamental rights of minors. It states that they were deprived of some of their fundamental rights such as the right to privacy guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It affirms that they cannot be left in a situation of legal uncertainty regarding essential aspects of their identity such as nationality and affiliation, which would result from the refusal to register them.
It is therefore recommended that, if you wish to become a surrogate parent, we recommend that you contact a GestLife family counselor.
The surrogate mother
Who is the mother in a surrogacy process?
In the full surrogacy process we must distinguish on the one hand, the surrogate who does not have, any genetic link with the baby, and the intended mother who is the mother of the baby.
In some cases of surrogacy in which the surrogate mother cannot provide her genetic material, an egg donor is used. But, in no case, the surrogate mother should be the one to provide the eggs if you carry out your process with a serious surrogacy agency since the laws prohibit it.
But regardless of the genetic link, and with adoption, the mother is the one who raises the child and gives her/him a home, an education, and steers the child in the right vital path. In a surrogacy process, the biological mother is the mother, and the surrogate is the woman who has offered to help her fulfill her dream.
At Gestlife, we only accept surrogates who already have children of their own, so we can be certain that they know what they are getting into with the pregnancy and that it will not affect their psychological health (besides being a legal requisite). The surrogates who participate in our surrogacy programs, as the mothers they are, understand how important it is for other people to form a family and want to help them achieve it.
Therefore, and in summary, in surrogacy the intended mother is the mother.
Doubts about Surrogacy
Fertility treatment in gestational surrogacy
It is a Human Assisted Reproduction Technique (ART).
In vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment is the technique used in surrogacy processes to help couples and individuals struggling to have a baby.
During In Vitro Fertilization treatment, eggs are removed from the ovaries of the expectant mother or from a donor and fertilized in vitro (in a test tube, hence the term "in vitro" fertilization). The egg fertilized by the sperm of the intended father. The embryo is implanted in the uterus of the surrogate woman, where it will develop into a healthy surrogate pregnancy or gestational surrogate pregnancy.
The similar In Vitro Fertilization treatment, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI,) is performed also in the laboratory. This treatment involves the injection of a single sperm directly into the egg. ICSI is recommended for couples in which the male partner has a low sperm count or low sperm motility, making it less likely that the sperm will fertilize the egg on their own
Remember that, in traditional surrogacy, the surrogate uses her own egg, so an artificial insemination can be performed, but this implies that the surrogate will have a genetic link with the baby with the sperm of the intended father.
