Surrogate+Motherhood+-+Jennie

JENNIE, EXCELLENT JOB. PLEASE LOOK UP THE PUAH INSTITUTE IN ISRAEL, puahonline.org, AND SUMMARIZE HOW THEY ARE THE LEADING MEDICAL AND HALACHIC CLINIC FOR IVF AND SURROGACY. GREAT TWIBLING EXAMPLE BELOW! WHAT A CRAZY STORY! Questions: 1. At what point is a surrogate mother considered Jewish? Does their mother have to be Jewish? Father? A. The surrogate has to have a Jewish mother and Jewish grandmother to be considered Jewish. 2. If a Jewish woman wants to use a surrogate mother and an egg donor, does the surrogate mother and egg donor both have to be Jewish, or can the baby just be converted after its birth? A. The surrogate mother must be Jewish, but the egg donor does not. 3. Does the halachic status of the baby depend on the genetic mother, the birth mother, or the social mother? A. The status depends on the birth mother. (See below for more information.) 4. Why does the surrogate mother have to be single according to the Torah? A. It is a concern of adultery. It could be as if the surrogate mother would be cheating with the social mothers husband. 5. If the surrogate mother is married, would being a surrogate mother be considered adultery? A. According to the Torah it would be considered adultery, most of the time. However, recently, Rav Shlomo Amar allowed women to be surrogates even though they are married. 6. Finding a surrogate mother is very difficult, and finding a Jewish and halachicly correct surrogate mother is even more difficult. Due to cost and the difficulty of finding a proper surrogate mother, can a Jewish couple use a non-Jewish surrogate mother? A. I assume it depends on the couple and what the couples rabbi tells them.

Biblical Text: In Beresheit it says in pasuk 28, "And G-d blessed them; and G-d said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and subdue it..."

Biblical Example: In the story of Tamar and Judahs' sons surrogacy is indirectly addressed. The sin that Er and Onan both commited was that they "spilled their seed." They both refused to impregnate her because it would ruin her good looks. They were wrong to not get her pregnant. In surrogacy the man technically has to "spill his seed" to be able to create a baby in a lab. A way around this would be using a condom (which is usually forbidden) with a hole punctured in it, which will isolate the sperm to be taken to a lab. (Genesis 38: 6-10)

Specific Example: In December I read in the NY Times an article all about surrogate motherhood. This couple could not have children and have tried IVF cycles many times. The cycles were extremely expensive and they didn't want to risk another failed cycle and more money wasted. As a result, the couple turned to surrogacy. What was interesting about this couples needs was that they wanted 2 children instead of just one. So, an egg donor was found after a long search(the womans eggs couldn't be used), 2 surrogate mothers were found for the 2 children, and the children were created. The procedure was successful and a baby girl and boy were born in different hospitals 5 days apart. These babies were called Twiblings. The photo below of the "family" is of the social mother (sitting) the genetic father, the two surrogate mothers, and the 2 babies. The procedure also had an egg donor who is not pictured. I recommend everyone to look up the article, or click on the first link below.

The Puah Institute: The Puah Institute is an organization that helps infertile couples have children through halachically and medically correct methods. I think it is the most advanced fertility organization that I have researched! It helps the couple from the very beginning until the very end. The institute will help with everything. They will help find the egg donor, surrogate mother,sperm donor, etc. It also performs treatments that are halachically correct, so religious couples can feel comfortable. It's a really great organization.

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