Update 4/2/2024: Michigan has ended its ban on commercial surrogacy, allowing women to rent out their wombs for money. Nebraska and Louisiana are now the only remaining states that do not allow paid surrogacy.
The state’s ban ended on Monday after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a package of bills removing the state’s prohibition on surrogacy contracts. Surrogacy has ushered in a “Handmaid’s Tale” epidemic in which low-income rent out their uterus to wealthy individuals. As previously reported by Live Action News, once she accepts the money, the surrogate is often made to feel like property. Both she and the child she is carrying are at the mercy of the desires of someone else, which could include abortion.
3/23/2024: Lawmakers in the Michigan Senate approved a series of bills last week that will decriminalize paid surrogacy, making it one of the last holdouts among U.S. states to approve surrogacy for hire.
In 1988, legislators passed a law making paid surrogacy contracts illegal, meaning the woman who is carrying the child for someone else could not receive monetary compensation for the use of her body. The legislative package passed this week, House Bills 5207-5215, which is called the Michigan Family Protection Act by supporters, would repeal this 1988 law, ultimately opening the door to exploitation as women are effectively paid for the rental of their wombs. There are some stipulations in place, including requirements that surrogates would have to have given birth to at least one child, be at least 21, have undergone medical and mental health evaluations, and have legal representation independent of the intended parents.
Genevieve Marnon, legislative director for Right to Life of Michigan, sent a written testimony speaking against the bills, warning that they will ultimately contribute to the exploitation of women.
“Providing payment for services rendered turns the generous acts of being an altruistic surrogate into a money-making proposition which in turn creates a market that can and does exploit poor and vulnerable women,” warned Marnon.
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“In other states and countries where surrogacy contracts are legal and binding, the abuses surrounding the multi-billion-dollar surrogacy industry have surfaced which include baby selling rings, surrogate trafficking, and baby hoarding.”
She also noted, “Surrogacy contracts almost without exception contain abortion clauses. Abortion clauses dictate that the surrogate, at the behest of the intended parents, submit to an abortion if the intended parents change their minds, discover a fetal anomaly, or if there are more babies that survived the embryo transfer than they want.”
Live Action News has written extensively on the problems with paid surrogacy; often times, low-income and poor women are tempted with the tens of thousands of dollars they may earn to carry someone else’s child. However, once she takes the money, the woman is often made to feel like property, as both she and the child she is carrying are subject to the wants and desires of someone else. As Marnon warned, this could include feeling pressure to abort, and legal ramifications if she refuses.
According to The Detroit News, because the House has already approved the bills, they will soon head to the desk of Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.
