US Surrogates Defend Paid Arrangements as $45,000-to-$67,000 Fees Draw Scrutiny
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 27
US Surrogates Defend Paid Arrangements as $45,000-to-$67,000 Fees Draw Scrutiny
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 27
Summary
US surrogates told The Guardian they entered compensated arrangements voluntarily and do not see themselves as the baby's mother, pushing back as commercial surrogacy faces renewed national scrutiny.
McKenna West's case sharpened that debate after she refused an abortion sought by the biological parents over a fetal heart defect, fled to Texas and later sought conservatorship; the US Supreme Court declined to intervene.
Surrogates described extensive screening, legal contracts and negotiated boundaries with intended parents, saying the process addresses medical bills, liability, insurance and decision-making during pregnancy.
Payments cited in the report ranged from $45,000 for a 2025 New York surrogacy to $67,000 for one upstate New York surrogate, alongside covered medical and legal fees.
The debate has widened after Lena Dunham revealed she used a surrogate, reviving criticism that paid surrogacy commodifies women's bodies even as surrogates frame it as chosen, high-risk work that helps families.