In many developed nations, surrogacy—the idea of paying a woman to carry a stranger's child—is outlawed or tightly restricted. In the US, by contrast, business is booming, writes Helen Lewis argues in the Atlantic. Many are surprised to learn that the nation has no federal regulator over a practice where so much can go wrong. The piece notes that the legalization of same-sex marriage has made gay male couples "the big growth market" in the industry, but it's becoming more popular among the wealthy in general given the six-figure sums that are typically involved. In terms of numbers: Nearly 12,000 embryos were transferred to surrogates at clinics under the umbrella of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology in 2024, up from about 8,500 three years prior.
"But just as paid surrogacy is becoming a more conspicuous part of American life, so, too, is the backlash," writes Lewis. She cites the example of actor Lily Collins, who announced the birth of her baby and thanked her surrogate, only for her and her husband to be hounded by critics calling them "human traffickers" and "baby buyers." Lewis piece explores all this via very different surrogate stories: from one California woman who sees carrying four babies for others as the most meaningful thing she's ever done, to others who describe trauma, financial pressure, and power imbalances with wealthier clients who demand to control everything. Read the full piece.
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