Foreword: Compensated Surrogacy in the Age of Windsor

Abstract

The raw and lasting nerves Paul Anka's song "Having My Baby" has touched are not unlike those set on edge by the topic of surrogacy, especially compensated surrogacy. The surrogacy debate begins with the issues of sex, gender, reproduction, children — already individually and intersectionally heavily laden with cultural contest — and adds issues of money and commerce. Compounding matters further, add the twenty-first century issues of fast-paced technological innovation and increasingly global markets that are affecting every area of life. There is no easy place to stand amid such a turbulent swirl.

Note: This essay introduces a symposium in the Washington Law Review.

Keywords: surrogacy, surrogate mothers, assisted reproductive technology (ART)