Surrogate Mom

Calafate, Argentina - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

Surrogate moms make about $10,000 per baby. Given the time, discomfort, and risk involved, multiple births make good economic sense. It boils down to a business arrangement which only involves the adoptive parents and the surrogate. Right? Wrong!

A wealthy man and woman, who are not necessarily United States citizens, are unable to conceive, so they hire a surrogate for in vitro fertilization. To hedge their bet three eggs are implanted into the recipient’s uterus. Ironically, the recipient is not required to have private insurance. If she is covered by MediCal, then all costs surrounding her multi gestational pregnancy with the exception of the in vitro portion and her $10,000 fee per live birth is covered by the taxpayer.

The surrogate who is pregnant with three babies begins contracting midway through the second trimester. To prevent delivery, she is admitted to the antepartum unit for weeks of hospitalization. Despite these efforts, odds are the babies will be premature and at high risk for complications requiring intensive medical care. These hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees are not borne by the parties to the contract but by the shrinking proportion of Californians who pay taxes. If this scenario is not sufficiently farcical, then consider the biologic parents can choose not to accept the babies if their health condition is not deemed satisfactory. They can throw their morals in the trash and walk away from three disabled infants, leaving the hospital and the state on the hook for all acute and chronic care.

While on call in the hospital during another Christmas holiday, it is extraordinarily difficult to listen to the Governor and California Legislature proclaim the budget has been trimmed to the bare bones. I know how they spend our money.