From Intercountry Adoption to Global Surrogacy: A Human Rights History and New Fertility Frontiers

Intercountry adoption has undergone a radical decline since 2004 when it reached a peak of approximately 45,000 children adopted globally. Its practice had been linked to conflict, poverty, gender inequality, and claims of human trafficking, ultimately leading to establishment of The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (HCIA). This international private law along with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) both affirm the best interests of the child as paramount in making decisions on behalf of children and families with obligations specifically oriented to safeguards in the adoption practices. In 2004, as intercountry adoption peaked, the first baby in India was born as the result of a commercial global surrogacy contract. Since then, commercial global surrogacy practice has rapidly increased and gained in popularity owing to improved assisted reproductive technology methods, the ease with which people can make global surrogacy arrangements, and same-sex couples seeking the option to have their own genetically-related children. Yet regulation remains an issue, so much so that it is predicted that the Hague Conference on Private International Law will draft a new law, with some similarities to the HCIA with a strong emphasis on parentage. This ground-breaking book presents a detailed history and applies policy and human rights issues with an emphasis on the best interests of the child within intercountry adoption and the new conceptions of protections necessary in global surrogacy. Voices of surrogate mothers in the U.S. and India ground discourse as authors consider the human rights concerns and policy implications.