ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON SURROGACY IN THE PHILIPPINES DISCUSSION

Surrogacy remains to be underdeveloped in the Philippines because of the many risks TWO MAIN THEMES
By: Beatriz Maria Sofia C. Pangalangan, Gabriel Josef B. Dawana, UNCHARTED WATERS: Surrogacy is unexplored
involved in the process. Secrecy shrouds surrogacy due to its legal predicaments and its
nonconformity to the Catholic belief system that dominates Philippine society. Implications Keith Andrew D. Kibanoff, and Sophia M. Ramos ● This theme discusses surrogacy as a practice is almost non-existent in the Philippines
Paper Adviser: Prof. Jay A. Yacat ● Both the medical practitioner and the surrogacy agency owner talked extensively about how there is no law
include demonizing women’s work and the necessity of academic discourse that addresses that particularly addresses surrogacy
surrogacy have been explored. ● In the context of the responses of netizens and the surrogate mother, surrogacy is considered either not
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES DILIMAN allowed at all or has a grey area in the Philippines. Under some subthemes, surrogate mothers are considered
Keywords: surrogacy, surrogate mothers, unexplored, risks, secretive, religion, perceptions, law untrustworthy, uneducated, and money-hungry. This perception of surrogates is part of a narrative as to why
surrogacy remains unexplored. In addition to that, a diagram below describes a subtheme RUNNING THE
METHODOLOGY RISK: Surrogacy is a risky business, which is also one of the main reasons for the current state of surrogacy.
DIRTY LITTLE SECRET: Surrogacy is a secret
This research made use of two sources of information in order to investigate it research ● All participants and the PinoyExchange forum stated that surrogacy is not openly talked about in the
THEORETICAL
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND questions: primary (semi-structured interviews) and secondary sources (content analysis of an Philippines.
● The surrogacy agency owner has stated that he had plans of moving his operations from the Philippines to
“Surrogacy is defined as the ‘practice whereby a woman carries a child for another with online forum) using participants internal and external to the process of surrogacy. Four Russia partially due to being forbidden from advertising his company in the Philippines.
the intention that the child should be handed over after birth.’” (Reyes & See, 2001). The semi-structured interviews were conducted with one surrogate mother, one surrogacy agency ○ On another note, this interview was done through a call--already highlighting how clandestine the
surrogacy method has two types: owner, and two medical practitioners aged 30-60 years old, with an inclusion criterion of business is.
● Much of the secrecy behind surrogacy may stem from its less-than-favorable legal status. While there is no
1. Traditional: the egg of the mother is used which is then fertilized by the sperm of the having had past experience with surrogacy. Participants were initially contacted through explicit law banning the procedure of surrogacy in the Philippines, it does fall under numerous other
father of the commissioning couple findsurrogatemother.com and those who responded were followed up both online and in violations. In the Philippines, the woman who gives birth is deemed to be the real mother of the child. The
person. Before research period started, 52 posts on PinoyExchange (public forum geared laws in the Philippines were made to protect the parental rights of men--there are no means in the
2. Gestational: the egg of the mother of the gestational coupled is used Philippines to disprove maternity. Aside from simulation of birth, the commodification of body parts and
Infertile couples prefer artificial reproductive technology (ART) techniques over adoption towards Filipinos) were analyzed in order to get Filipino netizens’ opinions of surrogacy. The
processes are also illegal under Philippine Law. Surrogacy is often likened to renting out one’s healthy womb
because they are deemed more viable as an option due to the parents’ overwhelming desire data from both primary and secondary sources were analyzed using thematic and content to bear a child for another woman or couple. However, there are no laws that directly prohibit nor regulate
to have a genetic connection to their own children; that is, they want to play some role in analysis respectively. The researchers made use of Google Sheets in order to organize their the medical practice (Guidote, 2017).
creation of themes for both data sources. They also utilized source triangulation (surrogate ● Surrogacy is not equivalent to sex work--however, both are largely considered to be “women’s work.”
the pregnancy and contribute genetic material to the baby (Fisher & Hoskins, 2013). Women’s work continues to be demonized and undervalued due to the patriarchy’s notion that these services
The legalization of the practice of surrogacy is not just a problem in the Philippines, but mother, agency owner, medical practitioner) and through the analysis of a secondary source, are expected to be done without charge (McClintock, 1993).
has also been put to debate worldwide. In 1995, Israel lifted its ban on surrogacy, while in added the fourth perspective, netizens, in order to provide further validity to the study. ● Surrogacy remains secretive due to its contrasts with the strong religious beliefs that are so dominant in the
Philippines. In the Catholic perspective, the separation of sex and childbearing is a scandalous affair--as all
the same year, the Italian court of law removed surrogacy from its list of legal ART sexual acts should result in, or intend to result in, procreation of life. This may also be where discrimination
procedures (Coleman, 1996). against infertile or LGBT couples stems from (Coleman, 1996).
The status of surrogacy varies from country to country as well. In places such as RESULTS
Australia, surrogacy is allowed if it is purely altruistic in nature (Karandikar et al, 2014). In
the Philippines, on the other hand, surrogacy is often compared to “child trafficking” as the QUOTE TRANSLATION
PERSPECTIVE
act of “buying a child” through its development in a body of a surrogate. However, the act of “[...] ang pagiging surrogate at
surrogacy happens before the child is even born, thereby debunking the comparison “Becoming pregnant and being
SURROGATE tsaka ‘yung pagbubuntis, hindi
pregnant is no joke. One of your
(Guidote, 2017). basta-basta. ‘Yung kabilang paa
Negative emotional and psychological effects are further imposed on a surrogate during MOTHER mo, nasa hukay; yung kabila,
feet is in the grave, while the
other is at the hospital.”
her pregnancy. Attachment to the fetus is one such effect and indeed, it is found that nasa ospital.”
women who do not distance themselves from the baby tend to fall into postpartum
“Yeah, we’ve been scammed a
depression over the relinquishing of the baby and abdication of all parental rights (Jadva et AGENCY few times. [...] They’ll
al., 2003). Moreover, the relationship dynamic between the intended parents and the None
OWNER [surrogates] try to scam us, of
surrogate mother changes. The surrogate eventually becomes powerless after giving birth course.”
as whatever amount of contact she will have with the baby will be dictated by the intended
parents afterward (Fisher & Hoskins, 2013). “Talagang ang setting sa US, “In the United States,
MEDICAL mayroong counselling. [...] counselling is required. [...] It
PRACTITIONER Nireready nila both yung helps ready both the parents
parents at yung surrogate. ” and surrogate.”
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

11 What are the perceptions of people involved

(surrogate mothers, agency owners, and
22 What are the perceptions of people involved
medical practitioners) and not involved
(netizens) in surrogacy in the Philippines on
surrogacy as a process?
(surrogate mothers, agency owners, and
medical practitioners) and not involved
(netizens) in surrogacy in the Philippines on
surrogate mothers in general?
REFERENCES
REFERENCES
Coleman, M. (1996). Gestation, Intent, and the Seed: Defining Motherhood in the Era of Assisted Reproduction. Cardozo Law Review, 17:497.
FILIPINO
“Bata lalaking walang ina at
saasbihing ‘anak galing ka sa
“A child growing up without a
mother and being told ‘son, you
NETIZEN baby maker’. Ano un testing were made by a baby maker’ A
Fisher, A. M. & Hoskins, M. L. (2013). A Good Surrogate: The Experiences of Women Who Were Gestational Surrogates in Canada. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 47(4),
…..500-518. Retrieved from http://cjc-rcc.ucalgary.ca/cjc/index.php/rcc/article/download/2503/2499
Guidote, I. (2017). Labor-Only Contracting: Examining the Legal Complexities of Surrogacy in the Philippine Context. Philippine Law Journal, 90, 328.
McClintock, A. (1993). Sex Workers and Sex Work: Introduction. Social Text, 37. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/466255.
baby na galing sa laboratory. test tube baby from a laboratory?
Javda, V., Murray, C., Lycett, E., MacCallum, F., & Golombok, S. (2003). Surrogacy: the experiences of surrogate mothers. Human Reproduction, 18, 2196-2204.
[...] look mo rin *** mgging [...] Look at the situation of the
Karandikar, S., Gezinski, L.B., Carter, R., & Kaloga, M. (2014). Economic Necessity or Noble Cause? A Qualitative Study Exploring Motivations for Gestational Surrogacy in Gujarat, India. Journal of
…...Women and Social Work, 29, 224-236.
Reyes, G. & See, H. (2001). Contracts to make babies: An examination of artificial reproductive technology from a Philippine contract law perspective. Philippine Law .Journal, 76(2), 194-288. situation nung bata pag laki.” kid when he grows up.”