Surrogate Parents
For many infertile couples, the assistance of a surrogate mother represents one last hope for becoming a genetic parent. They thus turn to surrogate mothers, or women who bear children for couples who cannot become parents through normal pregnancy and childbirth (Gentry). With careful preparation on both sides, surrogate parenting can be a viable option for couples to conceive a child and add to their family.
For many critics, the concept of a surrogate parent still retains the tinges of the 1986 Baby M. case, where the surrogate mother refused to give the baby to the intended parents. Others charge that this practice provides another opportunity for couples to exploit poor women.
However, statistics show that the practice of surrogacy is steadily growing. Figures from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) show that there were 1,210 attempts at surrogacies in the year 2000, doubling the figure from 1997 (Hamilton). Since 1976, experts estimate that from 15,000 to 16,000 babies have been born through surrogate mothers in the United States alone (Kornreich).
The rising popularity of surrogate parenting stems in part from new technology. In the Baby M. case, the surrogate mother was also the biological mother, because she was artificially inseminated with the intended father's sperm. Today, however, 95% of these types of pregnancy involve "gestational surrogacy," where the intended parents sperm...
132). When women reported that their desire for greater social support was satisfied, the outcomes reported for their children improved dramatically. The negative associations with single parenting thus have more to do with the circumstances that can give birth to single parenting, or are attached to single parenting because of the way our society is structured. In society, we have come to regard the nuclear family as the norm and single
Children Raised by Same-Sex Parents have more Problems than Children Raised by Different-Sex or Single Parents As more and more states legalize same-sex marriages, there is growing concerning among many proponents and critics alike about the effect that these civil unions will have on children. Although many children of same-sex unions are from previous heterosexual unions, adoption is also being used by growing numbers of same-sex partners and new reproductive technologies
Some surrogates know the couple, and volunteer their services. Others do it simply because they want to help a couple that is childless. Four authors continue, "One woman said, ' I wanted to do something that was out of the ordinary and that made me a little bit special'" (Dooley, McCarthy, Garanis-Papadatos, and Dalla-Yorgia 57). In other cases, the surrogate may be a friend or relative of the couple,
The single parent living on campus is in a unique position unlike any other student in college today. The single parent, typically a young female, is determined and motivated to succeed in college. Even if her grades are not the best (how could they be with her time divided between caring for herself, studying, going to class, and caring for her baby?), but she plans to stick with it because
Mr. Smith deserves custody of Samantha Smith In the hypothetical custodial and child support-related case of Smith v. Smith, Mr. Smith is suing for child support payments for Samantha Smith, a child whom is not biologically the natural child of either Mr. Or Mrs. Smith. However, as a result of in vitro parentage and surrogate pregnancy, Samantha became the child of both parents, to be raised as if she were
It is not always easy to keep childcare arrangements running smoothly and problems may arise from time to time. . In addition to these stresses, familial stresses might occur. For instance, Grandparents and parents may have different views about raising children. Parents' expectations of grandparents may exceed their resources. Grandchildren may not always obey or comply with grandparents' rules. Grandparents may not like the role of strict disciplinarian when discipline
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