For couples that are struggling to conceive a baby, in-vitro fertilization can be their saving grace. One of the initial problems they face will be the sky high prices of the procedure in the U.S. It is more than twice as costly for the procedure here in the U.S. than it is in India for example.
One of the major debates of traveling abroad for this service is many believe this is a way of exploiting the poor. The medical contracts are not as complex as they are in the states and that could leave the surrogate with less coverage of legal rights. Sometimes, couples don't even get to meet their surrogate which also makes the process questionable.
Also, the surrogates can have multiple embryos implanted in them where as in the U.S. most doctors limit it to two. The consequence of implanting multiple embryos is the surrogate can become pregnant with more than one baby and may have to abort the extras.
On the flip side, some view surrogacy abroad as empowerment. The salary can be life changing for a woman living in a country like India. She can use the money to provide education, a comfortable home, and nourishing food for her children, which would take her decades to accomplish.
Taking this all into consideration, it is understandable why this is such a controversial topic. It's almost a catch-22 when there are so many factors to consider.
