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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 8, 2025

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
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Gestation as mothering.

Timothy F Murphy1, Jennifer A Parks2

  • 1University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Bioethics
|September 23, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Gestational surrogates are mothers because pregnancy changes their moral circumstances and involves post-birth parenting practices. This challenges the view of surrogates as mere vessels, though it doesn't override contracts.

Keywords:
ethicsgestationmotherhoodmotheringsurrogacy

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Area of Science:

  • Bioethics
  • Reproductive Law
  • Sociology of Reproduction

Background:

  • The legal and social status of gestational surrogates is debated, with some arguing they do not qualify as mothers.
  • Existing definitions of motherhood often overlook the unique circumstances and practices of surrogacy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To argue that gestational surrogates should be recognized as mothers.
  • To differentiate surrogates from ovum donors, embryo donors, and participants in three-parent IVF.
  • To explore the implications of this recognition for surrogates' rights and societal perceptions.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical analysis of motherhood and mothering practices.
  • Examination of the moral and social circumstances of pregnancy and childbirth.
  • Comparative analysis of different reproductive roles (surrogates, donors, transmen).

Main Results:

  • Gestational surrogates engage in mothering activities, including changed moral circumstances due to pregnancy and post-birth practices.
  • Ovum donors, embryo donors, and some women in three-parent IVF do not meet these criteria for motherhood.
  • Transmen who gestate are engaged in mothering, irrespective of their paternal role.

Conclusions:

  • Recognizing gestational surrogates as mothers challenges their objectification as mere 'vessels'.
  • This perspective does not automatically grant surrogates parental rights over the child, respecting contractual agreements.
  • The concept of mothering extends to unique situations like transmen gestating children and raises questions about extracorporeal gestation.