In this blog post, we will examine the necessity of surrogate motherhood as an alternative in an era of low birth rates, along with the ethical and social issues that arise from it.
Since last year, parenting variety shows have been gaining popularity among people of all ages. This is probably because they resonate with parents who are currently raising children, bring back memories for parents who have raised children, and spark curiosity in those who have not yet had children. Most people dream of getting married and living with a spouse and children. As we can see in apartment advertisements, which always depict happy families with children, children are the most important thing for married couples. However, contrary to this reality, the birth rate is declining every year. As of 2023, the average birth rate in the OECD is 1.6, while South Korea’s birth rate is 0.72, the lowest in the OECD.
There are two main reasons for the declining birth rate. The first is social structural problems. As of 2023, dual-income couples account for 46.3% of all married couples, and this number is increasing. In addition, many couples give up having children due to the burden of education and childcare costs. The second reason is biological problems caused by environmental changes. The number of infertile couples is increasing every year due to environmental hormones and excessive exposure to electromagnetic waves. In fact, at least 600,000 couples are confirmed to suffer from infertility every year. Of course, the first reason, social structural problems, contributes more to the decline in the birth rate, but there is no realistic way to quickly resolve this issue. On the other hand, with the recent advances in medical technology, many efforts are being made to overcome biological problems. Among them, surrogacy is a representative method that gives hope to infertile couples with biological problems. A surrogate mother is a woman who gives birth on behalf of another woman. In cases where a fertilized egg cannot be implanted due to uterine abnormalities or problems with both the uterus and the egg, a surrogate mother provides her uterus, eggs, or both.
There are many articles about foreign celebrities who have used surrogate mothers to give birth, but surrogacy is still unfamiliar in South Korea. In Korea, the perception of surrogate mothers is negative. In fact, according to the results of a “Life Sharing Awareness Survey” conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 85.3% of 1,000 respondents were negative about surrogate pregnancies, and 68% answered that “it should be prohibited by law.” This negative perception may be influenced by the practice of seed-bearing, which existed in Korea in the past as a concept similar to surrogacy. Women who acted as surrogates were often of low social status and could not openly disclose their role. It is understandable that women who were asked to give birth to a child were unable to stand up for themselves and were viewed negatively. Of course, one may think that this was unavoidable given the circumstances at the time, but the fact that surrogacy is still frowned upon in South Korea and that those who seek surrogacy do so secretly is a repetition of the same problem. Koreans are very ignorant about surrogacy, which is receiving a lot of attention worldwide due to women’s rights issues and discrimination against women in the first and third worlds. Anyone who has a dream for their child should be able to seek the help of a surrogate mother, and dismissing this issue as a negative social phenomenon is a continuation of the gender discrimination of the past.
When I first researched surrogate motherhood, I thought it would produce good results if used for the right reasons. This is because the need for surrogate mothers and the safety of the procedure are increasing due to factors such as the declining birth rate, the increase in infertile couples, and advances in medical technology. Then, I came across photos of many surrogate mothers in India and Thailand lying in narrow tents, all in their final stages of pregnancy. There was no happiness in their expressions, and they seemed to be just waiting for their babies to be born. I felt that the most noble and beautiful act of giving birth was being reduced to a mere means of reproduction, and I began to think deeply about the issue of surrogate mothers again. Surrogate motherhood should be strictly prohibited in South Korea due to the lack of a legal framework and ethical and health concerns.
Currently, surrogacy is permitted in some states in the US, the UK, India, and Greece, but it is prohibited by law in many countries, including Germany, France, and Italy. Furthermore, even in countries where surrogacy is permitted, as in the examples above, regulations are being strictly revised. In South Korea, there are no explicit regulations on this issue. However, Article 23 of the Act on Bioethics and Safety stipulates that “no person shall provide, use, induce, or arrange for the provision of embryos, eggs, or sperm in exchange for money, property, or other consideration.” However, there is no clear institutional regulatory framework in place, and since it is not illegal, problems are arising due to loopholes in the law. Therefore, surrogacy should be prohibited until proper regulations are established.
In South Korea, surrogacy is neither legal nor illegal, and is therefore invalid. Most surrogacy contracts require an advance payment before the transfer of sperm or fertilized eggs. After the surrogate mother gives birth safely and hands over the child to the couple, the balance is paid. However, when the contract becomes invalid, the question arises as to whether the surrogate mother must return the money she received to the couple in order to restore everything to its previous state in accordance with the obligation to restore the status quo. In this case, the surrogate mother is not required to return all the money she received from the couple. A child who has already been born cannot disappear as if it never existed just because the contract has been invalidated. In that case, the question arises as to whether the surrogate mother or the couple has parental rights over the child, but there have been no court cases dealing with surrogacy contracts to date. This is because surrogacy contracts in Korea are often made in secret and are considered taboo. As there are no public court cases and surrogacy is illegal, there have been cases of fraud involving surrogacy contracts, and until the system is improved, the surrogacy market in Korea will continue to produce innocent victims.
Furthermore, surrogacy involves the commercialization of life, which cannot be measured in monetary terms, and is likely to become a business. Surrogate motherhood is a form of buying and selling life, and women’s eggs and wombs can be used commercially. When money is involved in surrogate motherhood, many unethical situations will arise. In fact, more than 90% of surrogate mothers become surrogates for financial reasons. Caring for a child during the actual 10-month pregnancy requires a lot of time and effort. Providing financial compensation for this is the policy of countries that currently allow surrogacy, and this can be considered reasonable compensation. However, when money is involved, if greater financial compensation is offered, surrogate mothers are much more likely to make the unethical choice of abortion. If children born with life are evaluated and selected based on their nationality or gender, serious ethical issues will arise.
These concerns are already a reality, and a representative example is “baby design.” This is when parents design the baby they want, choosing the gender and nationality. For example, parents pay large sums of money to surrogate mothers and force them to abort if they conceive a girl or a child with a congenital disability. Wealthy Asian parents do not simply want to have children through surrogacy. In many cases, they seek a surrogate mother in the United States to facilitate the immigration of their entire family to the United States. There are also parents who want to transfer their assets overseas through their children. It is a complete disregard for the dignity of life to give birth to a child with a special purpose before it is even born, when it should be a blessing.
Another problem is that surrogate motherhood can cause health problems for the surrogate mother and the child. Even in countries where surrogacy is legally permitted, the health requirements for becoming a surrogate mother are strict. However, in order to meet the growing demand in the surrogacy market, which has become too large, many surrogate mothers who do not meet the health requirements are entering the market. This is dangerous for the surrogate mother during childbirth, but it can also lead to health problems for the child, such as congenital disabilities.
The process of egg retrieval and childbirth poses a significant health risk to surrogate mothers. Surrogate mothers are often given “ovulation induction drugs” that force them to ovulate 8 to 10 eggs at a time, instead of one egg per month. In such cases, 20 to 30% of surrogate mothers suffer from aftereffects, and in severe cases, infertility and ovarian cancer may occur. In the case of childbirth, caesarean section is generally chosen as the most efficient and economical method. This is clearly not the best option for either the mother or the child. An even bigger problem than surrogate mothers lies with the child who is born. There are two main problems that children face: the health issues mentioned above and the issue of identity. A survey of the general public on who should be recognized as the real parent, the genetic parent or the parent who gave birth, showed similar results, with 22.4% and 21.7%, respectively. From the child’s perspective, the existence of a surrogate mother is not easy to accept and will cause lifelong trauma.
Surrogate birth and adoption are often compared to each other. Some people believe that, like adoption, surrogate birth can only be used for good purposes if it is regulated by law. However, surrogate birth is highly vulnerable to abuse. Adoption is when parents who want a child recognize a child who has already been born as their own and raise them. In this process, parents can choose the gender of the child and confirm their physical health. However, surrogate motherhood is not determined by health or gender, and financial factors are involved, so it is highly likely to be abused in cases of “baby design.” Therefore, in order for surrogate motherhood to be implemented, a strict legal system must be in place, as is the case with adoption.
Surrogate motherhood should be prohibited through strict legal systems. Surrogate motherhood has characteristics that are completely different from other medical practices. Other medical procedures are intended to save the lives of dying people, but surrogate childbirth is the creation of a new life, which is fundamentally different. In other cases of treatment, the risk of treatment lies with the patient, and no other life is threatened in order to save the patient’s life, but in surrogate childbirth, the risk lies with another person, and another person’s life is put at risk for the sake of a new life. Furthermore, without a comprehensive legal system in place, the involvement of money is likely to cause significant harm to many people. This undermines the value of life, which cannot be measured in money, and will lead to many ethical problems. It can also cause health problems for the surrogate mother and the child, and identity confusion for the child. Even though it is not yet a major issue in South Korea, it is rare for various issues such as women’s human rights, globalization, and discrimination against women in the developing world to be so intricately intertwined as in the case of surrogacy. This is an issue that we must pay attention to, and although it is currently hidden behind a veil, it will one day become a problem in South Korea as well. In South Korea, where there are no institutional mechanisms in place, surrogate motherhood has insurmountable problems that outweigh its apparent advantages, and therefore it must be prohibited.
