[cbmstephanie]

I don't want to break any forum rules on this post, so please don't mention any specific agencies or names of attornies, etc. I am just interested in general information.

I have heard some rumblings on agencies starting surrogacy programs. We are in not thinking about this option for adding to our family right now....I have my hands full! I am however interested in learning how a program like this works when a country other than the US is involved...with US citizens that is. I can see how a program like that would work in the US, but I am interested how it would work with Guatemala and the USCIS ect. Just curious.

[DPline]

I have read threads on the GAPS forum about surrogacy programs in India, though I dont' remember any details. I am sure you could find the threads with a search. It comes up periodically and there was one recently.

[dac_cincy]

There were threads out here on the Guatemala board about the India Surragcy program- it was on Oprah in the last year or so.

[debhorner04]

I have seen ads in our newspaper from our agency regarding information nights for a surrogacy program in India. You can pm me for the name, but it's not an agency I would personally recommend.

[cbmstephanie]

Thanks All! I have looked at the threads that mention surrogacy and they end up in very heated discussions. It is a very emotional subject. I am not so interested in the moral, immoral, aspect of the practice, I was actually just interested in the international aspect of the practice. Apparently there isn't a problem with the child being born elsewhere and then brought back to the US. The threads here didn't discuss that aspect, mostly the morality, exploitation and other sensitive issues involved. Like I said, we're not looking to increase our family right now...I'm completely fullfilled. Just a bit interested in learning about the subject.

[DPline]

You bering up a great point. I am now curious too how the child would qualify for a visa to enter the US. I always read the threads from a moderator's standpoint to make sure they didn't get out of hand and never thought through how the legalities of getting the child to the US would work.

[BrandyHagz]

I believe, to answer your question, it is because in surrogacy, the child is often 'born to' one of the biological parents. For example, the egg or sperm comes from a US Citizen, thus bypassing the requirement to meet US USCIS Visa requirements (No visa required for US Citizens coming to the US).

In cases in which the child is creating using donated egg/sperm (or embryo) I'm not sure of the legalities - beyond there never being any 'adoption' and the child being 'born to' the intended parents (no amended certificate, no termination of parental rights).

That's the best info I have, thus far.

[DPline]

Ahhhh . . . So it is really like the child was born to a US citizen abroad. Makes sense.

[LaRonda]

Sorry...but that sounds so disgusting to me. Using a womb of a woman in a third world country just to have a white child. There are so many real orphans in the world why would one resort to this? Sorry again, but it doesn't cease to amaze me how adoption agencies morph into surrogacy agencies and seize on the opportunity to make money. I guess you can also use a surrogate in the US, but using a woman in a third world country ensures that she has no rights. Very sad either way. It is things like this that one really has to pray for Divine guidance. I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone here who chooses to go this route, just sharing my view on this topic.

[naca]

I am betting the reason there isn't a problem bringing the child home is because with surrogacy (especially in these situations which tend to be GS) the child is biologically related to both parents who are already US citizens. It would be the same as if you were pg & went to Italy (I'd say Guat. or India but I've always wanted to go to Italy so I'm using that instead lol!) and went into labor and had your baby yourself. You would still be able to bring him or her home even though s/he wasn't born within our borders.

[JustBarbara]

Originally Posted by LaRonda

Sorry...but that sounds so disgusting to me. Using a womb of a woman in a third world country just to have a white child. There are so many real orphans in the world why would one resort to this? Sorry again, but it doesn't cease to amaze me how adoption agencies morph into surrogacy agencies and seize on the opportunity to make money. I guess you can also use a surrogate in the US, but using a woman in a third world country ensures that she has no rights. Very sad either way. It is things like this that one really has to pray for Divine guidance. I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone here who chooses to go this route, just sharing my view on this topic.

If you do some research of surrogacy in India you will find that middle-class Indian women are going the surrogacy route themselves for a variety of reasons - perhaps they were not able for health reasons or age reasons or other reasons to carry a pregnancy to term. So, Indian women are also using and paying Indian women for surrogacy. Just wanted to add this without passing judgement on anyone.

[DPline]

There is an article in today's (Thursday's) Wall Street Journal about surrogacy in India. It is in the Personal Journal section and is titled 'A Search for a Surrogate Leads to India.' Not terribly in depth, but decent. We get the print version so that is where I read it, but I am assuming you could pull it up online.

It does touch on the issue of proving the child's parentage to be approved for a birth certificate and US passport for the child to be brought to the US and that there is a significant amount of paperwork involved. The parents must provide medical documentation that they have a biological link to the child and DNA testing can be required.