title: Surrogate Motherhood: A Trust-Based Approach.
abstract: Because it is often argued that surrogacy should not be treated as contractual, the question arises in which terms this practice might then be couched. In this article, I argue that a phenomenology of surrogacy centering on the notion of trust provides a description that is illuminating from the moral point of view. My thesis is that surrogacy establishes a complex and extended reproductive unit--the "surrogacy triad" consisting of the surrogate mother, the child, and the intending parents--whose constituents are bound together by mutual trustful commitments. Even though a trust-based approach does not provide an ultimate answer to whether surrogacy should be sanctioned or prohibited, it allows for at least some practical suggestions. In particular, I will argue that, under certain conditions, surrogacy is tenable within familial or other significant relationships, and I will stress the necessity of acknowledging the new relationships and moral commitments that result from this practice.
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany katharina.beier@medizin.uni-goettingen.de.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beier
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce / Q000941:ethics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011247:Pregnancy; D011788:Quality of Life; D012933:Social Identification; D013533:Gestational Carriers / Q000523:psychology*; D035502:Trust
keywords: family; relationships; surrogacy; trust