Surrogacy: beyond the commercial/altruistic distinction

J. Y. Lee*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this article, I critique the commonly accepted distinction between commercial and altruistic surrogacy arrangements. The moral legitimacy of surrogacy, I claim, does not hinge on whether it is paid ('commercial') or unpaid ('altruistic'); rather, it is best determined by appraisal of virtue-abiding conditions constitutive of the surrogacy arrangement. I begin my article by problematising the prevailing commercial/altruistic distinction; next, I demonstrate that an assessment of the virtue-abiding or non-virtue-abiding features of a surrogacy is crucial to navigating questions about the moral legitimacy of surrogacy; in the final part, I reject other moral heuristics that might be proposed as alternatives to the commercial/altruistic dichotomy, and reiterate that a virtue-ethical framework is the most suitable way forward.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Medical Ethics
Volume49
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)196–199
Number of pages4
ISSN0306-6800
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • Surrogate Mothers
  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Ethics
  • VIRTUE ETHICS APPROACH

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