We Ignore Ethical Problems with Surrogacy at Our Own Peril

May 12, 2020

(Newsweek) – The recent announcement by popular television newsman Anderson Cooper that he will be co-parenting via surrogacy a baby boy, Wyatt, elicited nearly universal congratulations. What could be happier than the birth of a child? The happy announcement, however, blurs some difficult questions about a largely unregulated surrogacy industry that critics say puts women’s health at risk and leads to the commodification of children. A plethora of ethical questions accompanies the birth of the child. But since most Americans seem to view both in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy as unalloyed goods, those questions are often not discussed—or even raised.