Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the practice of womb surrogacy.
According to the ruling, surrogates are not to receive compensation for their services, limiting the exchange of money to cover expenses related to the pregnancy.
The court also decided that the specifics of legislation regulating the practice would be up to individual states.
“Womb surrogacy must always be agreed to through altruistic intent. The court recognizes the legality of the practice but warns against scenarios in which women may be the subject of exploitation,” Said Supreme Court President, Arturo Zaldívar Lelo.
Insemination procedures related to womb surrogacy in Mexico are most common in Mexico City, where the bulk of fertility clinics are concentrated, in part because the local government has already regulated the procedure.
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Womb surrogacy raises ethical questions regarding the exploitation of low-income women, as well her rights and those of the child.
Traditional surrogacy is one where the surrogate’s egg is fertilized in vitro by the intended father’s or a donor’s sperm.
Gestational surrogacy takes place when an embryo created by in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology is implanted in a surrogate.
Womb surrogacy has been denounced by the Catholic Church on the grounds that it runs the risk of treating wombs and babies like commodities.
In the Bible, Rachel who was infertile gives her handmaid Bilhah to her husband Jacob to bear children. The two children, whom Bilhah gave birth to were named by Rachel who was considered their rightful mother.
