Kids Without Wives: Men are Turning to Surrogacy to Become Single Dads

Posted by Alex in Baby & Kids on December 28, 2008 at 3:08 pm


There’s an intriguing trend afoot: men – both gay and straight – are turning to surrogacy to become single dads.

Surrogacy experts say because the practice is not regulated, many surrogacy arrangements are handled privately by individuals. Precise figures are hard to come by, but experts say there’s no doubt the United States is experiencing a surrogacy baby boom. [...]

Surrogacy experts say gestational surrogacy has increased steadily since the advent of in vitro fertilization in the early 1980s, because it provides an extra layer of emotional and legal protection for the client. The egg donor usually does not even know the client, and unlike the legally contentious "Baby M" case from the 1980s, the surrogate is not giving birth to her genetic child.

"It rises as an issue far less frequently with gestational surrogacy, because women never see it as their child to begin with," said John Weltman, president of Circle Surrogacy. [...]

Although most of their single male clients are gay, surrogacy providers say a smaller but growing number are straight. Steven Harris, a New York malpractice and personal-injury attorney, says he gave up trying to get married when he realized his primary motive was to start a family.
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Harris, 54, says he knew he made the right decision after 21-month old Ben was born. "I thought getting married was the only way to go, because I did want a family. But having Ben, I feel complete now," Harris says.

It’s fatherhood without all the hassles of a marriage – is that a good thing? Ronni Berke of CNN has the story: LinkThanks Tiff!


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COMMENT

15 comments to "Kids Without Wives: Men are Turning to Surrogacy to Become Single Dads"

  1. Woogie
    December 28th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Given the issues my wife has from her birth mother giving her up right after she was born, as well as close friend of hers suffering the same issues, ANY surrogacy is reprehensible IMO. Nobody EVER stops to think of the child or the effect it might have on it being taken away from it's biological mother.

  2. Woogie
    December 28th, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Addendum: Genetics make no difference. The baby is still connected via the placenta to the woman it is inside.

    I feel so sorry for the babies that have to go through this.

  3. Alice
    December 28th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    Woogie, most surrogates are not the biological mothers. A donor egg is used to prevent the very problem you mention.

  4. Dr Girlfriend
    December 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    Woogie, my birthmother gave me up right after I was born, and I was raised in a wonderful loving family. I was also aware of my adoptive status from the beginning and was never treated as if this was something "bad". I am 30 years old now and have regained contact with my birth family. The confidence that was instilled in me by my parents (adoptive)regarding my worth and love has enabled me to see that the reasons surrounding my adoption, while a difficult choice for my mother and others involved, was for the best and was a loving choice.
    Your girlfriends issues don't completely stem from just her birthmother's surrender. There are other outlying issues she needs to address.

    Adoption is a beautiful thing, be it straight, gay, single or married. Every child deserves a loving family.

    Surrogacy isn't adoption. It is paying someone else to have a child for you. At no point do the genetics of the person the womb is attached to enter into the equation. A woman who enters into a surrogacy contract is aware of this, as is the father. If you were a product of artificial insemination, would you feel the same way about the sperm donor?

  5. raincoaster
    December 28th, 2008 at 4:55 pm

    I know a woman who has children in exchange for money, although the economics and custody arrangements are a bit different. Economists have theorized that the only advantage marriage has over prostitution is the production of children, but they don't realize there's a market for the production of children in the first place.
    Details:
    http://raincoaster.com/2008/04/13/stupid-girl/

  6. Nicholas Dollak
    December 28th, 2008 at 8:12 pm

    I think surrogates are making the best of a bad situation. There's nothing wrong with adoption/surrogacy (is that a word?); but I've seen a sharp decline in the number of women who see marriage as desirable. For some of us, parenthood is a desirable condition, just as for some it is something to avoid. Hopefully some sort of social change will occur that will cause people to be more open & honest with themselves (and thus make it easier for marriage-minded people to find each other instead of wasting time); until then, this may be the most effective means for some people to raise a family.

  7. sam
    December 28th, 2008 at 10:04 pm

    Ben was 21 months old when he was born?! DAMN!

  8. liphttam1
    December 28th, 2008 at 10:21 pm

    Theres nothing wrong with it. But is it worth going thru the problums similar to a wife dying in childbirth?

  9. DOJ
    December 28th, 2008 at 10:32 pm

    haha sam, I thought the same thing 8)

  10. ted
    December 29th, 2008 at 7:53 am

    Makes no sense, liphttam1. What problems are similar to a wife dying? Just the fact that the woman isn't there?

    We've seen women choose to raise kids without men for years. What's any different here?

  11. yakdan
    December 29th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    This is exactly the sort of think I was looking for before I started me family.

  12. Dave
    December 29th, 2008 at 5:08 pm

    I knew a guy who did this about 30 years ago. He wanted kids without the emotional baggage of the wife-thing. So he made financial arrangements with a co-worker of his who had "desirable genetic traits" (as he put it), made the baby the old-fashioned way, then parted ways after the baby was born. I haven't seen much of him since then, but it seems things went well.

    I would think that one concern is that a pedophile would try something like this. Scary to think of what the kid would be in for.

  13. Evil Pundit
    December 29th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    Considering the terrible things that happen to men when wives divorce them, I think surrogacy is the way to go for men who want children.

    That is, until the artificial womb is perfected.

  14. Stew
    December 30th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    I'm all for it. Why shouldn't men be allowed to become single fathers without the drama/baggage that comes along with marriage? Women have been doing it for far longer than men.

    Sadly, this is one more thing for the traditional/pro-family/"you're destroying society, where are your morals?" idiots to latch on to.

  15. Kenny
    December 30th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

    My partner and I have twins who just turned two. We used an egg donor and a gestational surrogate. I gave up a career as a CPA to stay home with my kids and don't regret it at all. Having children has been a dream come true for me and I will be forever grateful to the two women (egg donor and surrogate) who made this possible. They are truly heroes. Our kids have no doubt who their parents are: daddy & papa.

    Because so many hateful people have made it difficult for gay couples to adopt, I never considered adoption. With surrogacy, the children are biologically related to one of us and under our state laws the other part of a couple can be specified as the child's parent. Thus, only our names appear on the birth certificates.


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