Should Surrogate Pregnancy Arrangements be Enforceable in Aotearoa New Zealand?

Shaw, Rod

doi:10.26686/pq.v16i1.6351

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In New Zealand, Shaw (2008b) interviewed both traditional and gestational surrogates (four in total) alongside the egg donors. More recently, Shaw (2020) has challenged the claims of philosophers Walker and Van Zyl (2017), that a 'professional surrogacy model' that enforces surrogacy arrangements is the answer to the current ambiguous and piecemeal regulations in New Zealand. The current article draws on and contributes to this literature, shedding light on the novel experiences of traditional surrogates and highlighting new ways of seeing kin-making in contemporary times.…”

Section: Assisted Reproduction and Kin-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Doing it Our Way” Participation and Kinship in Traditional Surrogacy Narratives in Aotearoa New Zealand

Gibson¹

2021

MAT

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The practice of traditional surrogacy gives rise to multiple discourses around women’s autonomy and kinship practices globally. In the Aotearoa New Zealand context, traditional surrogacy (where the surrogate donates her own egg as well as gestating the foetus) is legal only on an altruistic basis. Furthermore, it is subject to neither medical nor state oversight, unlike gestational surrogacy which is heavily regulated. Drawing on three years of ethnographic research, this article focuses on both traditional surrogates in Aotearoa New Zealand who have children of their own and those who have chosen a childfree life. Their narratives reveal multilayered motivations that align with and diverge from the ‘help’ narrative often associated with altruistic surrogacy. By drawing on and contributing to current debates on surrogacy globally, I show that traditional surrogates take on their role with clear ideas about kinship and different interpretations of reproductive participation. Their narratives bring to the fore the under-researched topic of traditional surrogacy, and in particular of women who do not want children of their own but choose to donate their eggs and gestate the foetus for another woman. I argue that their negotiation of stigma to make/resist kin disrupts pervasive heteronormative modes of kinship.

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Section: Assisted Reproduction and Kin-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Doing it Our Way” Participation and Kinship in Traditional Surrogacy Narratives in Aotearoa New Zealand

Gibson¹

2021

MAT

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“…It includes the surrogate conceiving via IVF and uses the egg of the intended mother or an egg donor with sperm from the intended father or a sperm donor. This method results in the conceived child genetically related to the intended parents and the surrogate having no genetic relation to the baby (Shaw, 2020). The second form is traditional surrogacy, which is an established procedure but is not governed under the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act (2004).…”

Section: Art and Surrogacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For gay or single men, surrogacy could be the first step to creating a family. However, for heterosexual couples, surrogacy is often a pathway considered last resort after having tried other ART and fertility options with no success (Shaw, 2020). Recognising that the experience of infertility is disheartening, coupled with failed procedures, many intending parents are willing to do anything to have a child.…”

Section: Art and Surrogacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviewing Commercial Transnational Surrogacy: Lessons for Aotearoa New Zealand

Sathiyaraj¹

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Commercial transnational surrogacy provides those who experience infertility an opportunity to have a child of their ‘own genetic make-up.’ Gestational surrogacy, the focus of this research, involves a surrogate conceiving via in vitro fertilisation using the egg and sperm of intended parents or donors. This technology enables the surrogacy process to be divided, outsourced, anonymised, and transported transnationally, thereby facilitating its commercial potential. Commercial surrogacy involves intending parents paying for a surrogate and is illegal in Aotearoa New Zealand (and much of the Global North). Altruistic surrogacy involves no payment and is legal. Difficulty in finding a surrogate in Aotearoa New Zealand results in intending parents looking overseas (often to the Global South). Surrogates in the Global South are often of low socio-economic status, in need of remuneration and are vulnerable to exploitation. This research scrutinises how a trade involving the most vulnerable people exists with no international regulation. The study aimed to identify the groups involved, their relationships, and any subsequent ethical risks. It also focused on key lessons that could inform Aotearoa’s international surrogacy regulation. A qualitative approach was undertaken, using four one-to- one interviews with Aotearoa New Zealand based subject experts and a scholarly literature review. The groups are identified as: intending parents, surrogates, clinics, brokers/agencies, babies, egg, and sperm donors. The relationships between these groups are limited due to the little shared understanding, compartmentalisation of the surrogacy process using reproductive technology, geographical distance, and the severing of emotionality through commodifying the surrogate. The lessons for Aotearoa New Zealand are focused on easing difficulties faced by intending parents domestically, so they avoid seeking out services in countries with compromised human rights standards. Most of the interviewees in this study were reluctant to move away from altruistic domestic models, but one interviewee did suggest that surrogates should receive payment in Aotearoa New Zealand. A need to shift theoretical thinking away from pure commercial and altruistic models could enable frameworks that are better fit for purpose and prioritise the dignity and rights all groups involved.

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“…11 In traditional surrogacy, the gestating person uses her eggs and is artificially inseminated with sperm from the intended father or donor. In gestational surrogacy, the birth mother carries the baby but is not biologically related to the baby, instead, the child is produced through in-vitro fertilisation using the sperm and eggs of the intended parents or donors (Shaw, 2020). This presents challenges for Māori (Shaw, 2015;Yates et al, 2015), and makes context-specific examination of infertility and the use of ARTs an important approach (Glover et al, 2008).…”

Section: Spread and Utilisation Of Art In New Zealandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like the state of Victoria in Australia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, New Zealand has an open gamete donation policy that enables the identification of donors. This is critical for Māori, who place a high value on family relationships and knowledge of ancestry as part of their identity (Shaw, 2020).…”

Section: Spread and Utilisation Of Art In New Zealandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hope and Heartache: Unpacking the invisible struggles of involuntary childlessness and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) use in Zimbabwe and New Zealand

Mabweazara

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The sensitive and challenging issue of infertility affects couples and individuals globally who are of childbearing age from all socioeconomic backgrounds. According to the World Health Organisation, infertility affects one in every six couples, or 48 million couples and 186 million people worldwide. Medical infertility can be classified as primary or secondary, with primary infertility referring to those who have never given birth despite having had coital contact for longer than a year without using contraception. Those who have had at least one successful pregnancy but are now unable to have more children are said to experience secondary infertility.According to reports, infertility has severe impacts on those who experience it, especially in low- income countries. This study looks at how attitudes about involuntary childlessness and use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) among involuntary childless African couples and individuals in Zimbabwe and Aotearoa New Zealand are shaped by socio-cultural context. The study explores the impact of socio-cultural attitudes and practices in relation to these individuals’ and couples’ desire for children.Structural infertility and a reproductive justice framework are used as the analytical lenses in this qualitative research, which utilises a comparative case study methodology based on phenomenology to draw on the lived experience of infertile Africans in both countries. The study juxtaposes these experiences with Zimbabwean worldviews on marriage, infertility, family formation, and childbearing to draw out the unique intricacies of each case. Through social networks and snowballing, eight infertile persons (two divorced women, one couple in the process of divorcing, four married women, one married man, and one surrogate mother) participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews in Zimbabwe alongside 16 healthcare professionals. For this part of the study, 25 participants in all were interviewed. In New Zealand, a total of eight participants were recruited: three infertile African women, three healthcare professionals, one African sperm donor and an African community leader. The cases are compared to discover similarities and differences between participants in the two countries, with the aim of understanding the shared and unique experiences of infertile Africans living at home and those from minority ethnic populations living abroad. A total of 33 participants’ voices are recorded for this thesis.The investigation provides a deeper understanding of how infertility is experienced and how reproductive technologies are perceived in both nations. The interview findings show that all the participants share the desire to have children, and that they sought out various forms of treatment, including traditional and religious faith-based interventions, as well as a preference for genetically related offspring.Although the use of donated gametes was seen as unacceptable by some participants, the New Zealand policy of open disclosure and identity-release donation was seen as a deterrent to the use of ART. Additionally, participants across both locations preferred to keep their use of ART and infertility a private and secretive matter. As such, the study highlights the need for further research into the nuances of infertility and reproductive justice across different African countries as well as among African migrants living in the global north. The research aims to inform policymakers on the best approaches to improve fertility services for African women and men in these contexts and seeks to identify areas where further interventions are needed.

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Should Surrogate Pregnancy Arrangements be Enforceable in Aotearoa New Zealand?

Cited by 4 publications

References 10 publications

“Doing it Our Way” Participation and Kinship in Traditional Surrogacy Narratives in Aotearoa New Zealand

“Doing it Our Way” Participation and Kinship in Traditional Surrogacy Narratives in Aotearoa New Zealand

Reviewing Commercial Transnational Surrogacy: Lessons for Aotearoa New Zealand

Hope and Heartache: Unpacking the invisible struggles of involuntary childlessness and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) use in Zimbabwe and New Zealand

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