Surrogacy-Hannah

= ✮Jewish Laws on Surrogacy✮ =

A women is having trouble having a baby.
1. What are the Halachic viewpoints on surrogacy? 2. If Surrogacy is allowed for infertile couples, what about people that are single or women that don't want pregnancy to intervene with their careers? 3. If you are Jewish and you partner is also Jewish and you find a non-Jewish surrogate is your child Jewish? 4. Does the surrogate mother, who nurtures the child to birth, have maternal status as well? 5. If you are Jewish and want to ensure that your baby will be Jewish. Can you use a relative as a surrogate?

Halachic Viewpoints:

 * Intervening in Medicine for the purpose of achieving pregnancy is allowed and even encouraged when needed. (www.jewishwomenshealth.org)
 * There is even a mitzvah written in Genesis (1:28) "Pru Urvu" or "Be fruitful and multiply." Certainly if couples have trouble conceiving a baby they should seek help through surrogacy to fulfill this Mitzvah.
 * There are many instances in the Torah where they undergo situations much like Surrogacy. Here are a few:


 * 1) Yaakov and Rachel told Bilha to have a baby and then Rachel named the baby and she considered it her own.
 * 2) Yaakov and Leah told Zilpah to have a baby for them.

the child is considered the natural mother's baby and not the surrogate mother.
 * According to Jewish law, if a Mother is Jewish her child is also Jewish. But who is considered the baby's real mother? Jewish law states that the natural mother is considered the child's actual mother. If the egg comes from the mother seeking a surrogate then
 * The surrogate mother must be single and unrelated to either spouse so that there is no case that is considered adultery.
 * If the birth mother is Halachically considered the mother, and the surrogate mother is not Jewish, conversion of the baby would be needed.
 * The child will need to know who the surrogate is so that he will not marry future children of the surrogate's other children.
 * (Genesis 38:6-10) Theres a story in the Torah, Tamar and Judah have a son in which he goes through a process which is somewhat considered Surrogacy. Er and Onan "spilled their seed" amidst trying to impregnate her. They didn't want to ruin her good looks. This story shows that obviously, Spilling "the seed" is a big issue with surrogacy.

**My Opinion:** I think surrogacy should be allowed in Judaism for some cases. In a case with two Married spouses, that cannot have a baby on their own, Surrogacy should be encouraged. But in a case where the mother is worried about maintaining her figure or that the pregnancy will interfere with her social life, Surrogacy should be prohibited. The only mother with Maternal status should be the natural mother and not surrogate. The egg comes from the natural mother and when the child grows up, the child will not have any characteristics of the surrogate mother. I also think that if the surrogate mother is not Jewish, then the child must be converted after birth. Who knows what the surrogate mother could be eating or doing during the pregnancy?



I saw in Long Beach.
I found information about surrogacy and many other Medical Ethics pertaining to Jewish Women on these websites: [] [] []

= = =What have I enjoyed about this topic? = I really enjoyed learning about Jewish Ethical Issues regarding Surrogacy. I learned about all of the Halachic issues regarding specific instances during the process of Surrogacy. Surrogate Motherhood is a tough decision for many people and Judaism makes that decision just that much harder. I really enjoyed learning that there were actually people in Biblical Times that used methods of surrogacy to get children. This topic has always interested me but I've never actually done research on it. I've always wondered about Halachic issues regarding Surrogate Motherhood and now that I know about specific Halachic opinions I feel like I've broadened my knowledge on this topic.