Len Brooks, director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Surrogacy, states, "A gestational surrogate becomes pregnant when embryos generated from the eggs and sperm of the intended parents are placed in the surrogate's uterus" (St. Martin 1). Brooks stresses the medical exams, legal representation and matching of the couples that surrogacy agencies provide, Brooks states, "Each surrogate is screened psychologically and financially before any insemination or IVF transfers take place" (St. Martin 2). The second type of surrogacy is traditional surrogacy in which the surrogate is artificially inseminated by the intended father or by a donor. (Petersen, 1). The third type of surrogacy is a sort of "reverse surrogacy". (Litz [Options Available], 1). It is known as the egg donor program. In the ED program, the "surrogate" donates an egg, which is fertilized with the husband's sperm, and the embryo is then transferred to his wife. The child is genetically related to the surrogate, but since the wife gives birth, she needn't adopt it. (Litz [Options Available], 1). There is much confusion over surrogacy. Twenty-six states have laws that in some fashion address surrogacy. Arizona, Michigan, New York, Washington State, and Washington D.C. have actually criminalized paid surrogacy. (Handel …show more content…
In the article "The Baby Broker Boom" by George J. Annas printed in the June 1986 edition of the Hastings Center Report, Annas writes "Surrogate parenting violates the marriage covenant; dehumanizes the procreative process; exploits women; treats the child as a commodity to be delivered for the payment of a price; ignores the reality of the surrogate mother's psychological and emotional attachment to her child." (McCarthy, 1). Annas is clearly opposed to surrogate parenting. In fact, the general catholic opinion is that surrogate parenting is immoral and should be outlawed or criminalized in all 50 states. (McCarthy, 1). October of 2002 brought changes to the Catholic Church, quadruplets, conceived through surrogacy were baptized in the Vatican. Michael Meehan, the quadruplets' biological father, voiced his opinion in Julian Brouwer's article, "Birth of a New Era In the Catholic Faith", published in The Express. "The babies are God's children. That's how the church should view it." (Brouwer, 1). In his article, Brouwer writes, "Not only were they baptized into the catholic faith as babies born via surrogacy, but their legal parents are gay." (Brouwer, 1). It seems that even for those who are traditionally set in their ways, there is always room to