“Surrogacy has been the most contentious use of assisted reproductive technologies,” explain Yuri Hibino and Yosuke Shimazono. In a recent report they study the personal profiles and motivations behind the ‘message board surrogacy’ observed in Thailand, where potential surrogates and infertile couples connect through online forums.
Surrogacy is the nourishing of an in vitro fertilised foetus in the womb of a woman outside the parental relationship, usually to allow infertile couples to have children. It is illegal in any form in many countries and despite its increasing prevalence commercial surrogacy is only permitted in the US. In Thailand a bill defining the status of surrogacy failed to be ratified by the National Assembly leaving it in a state of legal limbo.
Yuri Hibino and Yosuke Shimazono interviewed 14 prospective surrogates recruited through advertisements on surrogacy message boards, as well as an additional study participant introduced through a lawyer. Studies in other countries have concluded that women turn to commercial surrogacy out of financial desperation. In contrast most of the women Hibino and Shimazono interviewed were educated and did not appear to be suffering severe financial distress.
Although economic factors featured as the primary motivation for posting an advertisement to become a surrogate, other incentives included compassion for infertile couples, a love of being pregnant and a desire for ‘tan-bun’ a term for a meritorious act that holds particular significance in Buddhism. In addition, the researchers highlight the possible influence of gender roles in Thailand where high expectations are placed on daughters to care for elderly parents.
Hibino and Shimazono also point out that the social form of message board surrogacy has some advantages. However the lack of support structure may leave message board surrogates particularly vulnerable as they “walk into a ‘psychological minefield’ without much protection.”
Further information
Organization of Frontier Science and Innovation
Kanazawa University
Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.o-fsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/about/
About Kanazawa University
As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 16 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.
The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa—a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has cultivated a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the Kaga fiefdom (1598–1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 12,200 students including 500 from overseas.
Kanazawa University website: http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/index.html
