This one is more complicated because all religions pick and choose how to frame morality in very specific ways with some activities allowed, others prohibited.
However, from a purely logical perspective, this argument falls flat. Namely that using medical science to assist with growing or starting a family is well established in modern life. The going-against-God’s-will argument ignores how many acceptable important and widely-celebrated pre-birth medical interventions exist including IVF, in vitro surgeries, and selective termination to save other viable fetuses.
We as humans are always trying to improve the hand we were dealt when it comes to our own genetics and medical histories, as well as, our universal aim to improve the potential life of our offspring. Reducing human suffering and helping others through compassion is part of who we are as a species.
Women have been using their bodies to help nourish other children for centuries – wet nurses were literally-lifesaving women. In western society wet nurses were originally viewed with contempt and suspicion – why would any woman volunteer to provide life to another woman’s child(ren) with her own breasts? Sound familiar? Later, it was almost-universally agreed upon that breast milk could (and should!) be shared across families and even donated to strangers with the expressed consent of the breast-milk supplier. Many women are happy to donate their own supply to others in need and there’s entire online communities devoted to coordinating the gifting of breastmilk to others.
Regarding Christianity, Judaism, and Islam specifically, traditional surrogacy is mentioned in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible/Quran. Abraham, a Biblical patriarch, used Hagar to carry a child on behalf of himself and his wife Sarah. It’s correct, however, to argue that Biblical examples of surrogacy such as Abraham/Sarah/Hagar have more in common with ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ than modern and well-regulated ethical surrogacy.
A dark legacy of surrogacy without a protective legal framework is precisely why we need legal and safe surrogacy and why surrogates and Intended Parents alike are pushing for the legalization of commercial and altruistic surrogacy under protective-to-all-parties terms. Not because anyone wants to play God, but because surrogacy is a modern miracle created by science and carried out by informed and compassion humans.
If you are a surrogate or intended parent seeking potential surrogacy matches for an independent journey without a surrogacy agency, start here!
