The surrogate who carries the pregnancy to term and gives birth has no genetic connection to the child.Ĭoncerns have been expressed regarding the relationship between families created through surrogacy and the surrogate over time (5).
However, the most common type of surrogacy in the United States is gestational surrogacy (4), a high-technology procedure in which an embryo is created using the sperm of one of the intended fathers and the egg of a donor and transferred to the surrogate. This can be a relatively low-technology procedure in which conception occurs using the sperm of one of the intended fathers and the egg of the surrogate who carries the child to term (referred to as genetic surrogacy).
Gay men may choose to become parents via surrogacy, a process in which a woman bears a child for the intended parent(s). Given recent changes in marriage equality in the United States (2) and physicians’ ethical obligation to treat all persons equally regardless of sexual orientation (3), the number of gay fathers creating families through assisted reproductive technologies is likely to rise. In the United States it is has been estimated that between 2 and 3.7 million children have a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender parent, with approximately 200,000 being raised by same-sex couples (1). Discuss: You can discuss this article with its authors and with other ASRM members at
