What used to be a costly, sci-fi solution to childlessness has emerged as an everyday story. But as the procedure becomes more common, so do cross-border legal and ethical problems, as highlighted by a case after a Thai surrogate mother bore twins: The Australian parents took the healthy child and left the one with Down syndrome behind. Such stories are just the tip of the iceberg of a global story. Surrogacy – having another woman bear a child for someone else – increasingly poses a troubling dilemma for governments, religious organizations, surrogates and intended parents, and even the children themselves. Surrogacy is a fundamental human right for some and exploitation of others, especially women who are poor.
Rising popularity of the procedure in the United States, India, Thailand and elsewhere has led to devious online brokers, questionable private clinics, clandestine trips abroad and a thriving underground market along with well-publicized abuses. In some instances, most recently in Thailand, governments have imposed stringent regulation