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Some of the most naturals steps in living life are also some of the hardest. The decision to begin a family falls into this area. While it’s possible to start a family on the spur of the moment, it’s not recommended. A healthy, wholesome family requires planning, a considerable financial investment, a willingness on the part of the parents-to-be to change their lives and focus on children, and the commitment to see out this new change and lifestyle for decades.
For some people, however, the planning, investment and challenges begin even before a child is born, because having the child is an obstacle in and of itself. Some couples, either for medical or even biological reasons, are unable to have a child through traditional pregnancy and birth. Fortunately, adoption isn’t the only route; surrogacy is another alternative. But this may require some people wanting to start a family to consider working with a surrogacy service abroad. Here’s why.
What Is A Surrogacy Service?
A surrogacy service is a group or an organization that focuses on facilitating the various aspects of surrogacy so that a couple wishing to start a family can have a faster, safer, more efficient experience. While it’s possible for a couple to undertake surrogacy by themselves, this often involves far more time, research, and expense as it involves having to learn, source, and secure everything themselves.
A surrogacy service has the experience, connections, and mechanisms in place to move from one step to the next with little in the way of interruptions or problems. Rather than a couple having to solicit, interview, verify and negotiate with a viable surrogate mother, for example, a surrogacy service can create their own thorough vetting process, so that a couple working with the service can quickly choose from an available pool of candidates that have already been screened and verified for important qualifiers like health, previous birth experience and healthy lifestyle.
Some surrogacy services can take this a step further and continue to assist both the intended family and the surrogate mother even after the selection process is over. Connections with obstetricians, medical facilities, and other important pregnancy support factors can all benefit from the assistance of a service if such additional support is available.
Going Abroad
With this type of support from a surrogacy service, why would some people consider going to a surrogacy service abroad, rather than using a local solution? One of the common reasons for this choice is because there are no surrogacy services available locally because the country or region that a person is living in does not legally allow surrogate pregnancies.
Some countries in Europe, like France and Germany, and some areas of North America, such as the French Canadian province of Quebec, have banned surrogate pregnancies. It means couples that decide to ignore the law and work with a surrogate mother may have no legal parental custody of that SurMom, while the surrogate mother, considered the biological/birth mother, is legally declared the parent.
Getting More Choice
Another reason some people thinking about surrogacy consider going with a surrogacy service abroad is to give themselves more options. While many countries have legalized surrogacy, not all of them have legalized compensated surrogacy.
“Altruistic surrogacy” is the most common form. This is where a woman that agrees to become a surrogate mother does so on a more or less volunteer basis. While she may receive financial support for living expenses, and medical care as the pregnancy progresses, she gets no other additional reward and is operating largely from a sense of compassion and generosity.
A compensated surrogacy is when the surrogate mother receives, in addition to living and medical expense support, actual financial recognition for the important role she plays in the surrogacy process. Because of how significant this compensation can be, it can make a big difference in someone’s life, and places, where compensated surrogacies are legal, tend to have a much bigger pool of viable candidates to choose from, now that there’s a financial incentive involved.
Different Facilities
In some cases, a couple hoping to start a family may work with a surrogacy service abroad simply because they want to try a new location that provides some different options. Couples in other countries may choose to work with a service in the United States to take advantage of advanced medical care if they can afford the premium pricing. Others, however, may choose to go elsewhere for maximum value. Facilities in the country of Georgia, for example, are in many ways comparable to those in the United States but don’t command the same pricing.
While there can be many advantages to using a surrogacy service abroad, it’s important to approach this choice with much planning. Travel expenses and scheduling time for travel must now be a part of the surrogacy process, and this will require additional effort.