A New Ethical Model of Commercial Surrogacy Arrangements for Australia

The current regulation of altruistic surrogacy arrangements in Australia has resulted in a dearth of willing participants and is driving intending parents overseas to unregulated countries. This section contends that the current altruistic surrogacy arrangements in Australia violate a number of ethical principles and fail to protect the interests of all parties. This section then proposes a new ethical model for commercial surrogacy arrangements that includes: fair and just compensation; enforceability of surrogacy agreements; amended parentage presumptions and the ability to obtain pre-birth parenting orders; regulation of surrogacy agencies and brokers; recognition of approved international surrogacy arrangements; and review by a Patient Review Panel with legislative safeguards. Altruistic surrogacy arrangements would remain available to those parties who object to commercial surrogacy. This new ethical model better satisfies the four principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice than the current altruistic surrogacy model.