Book summary

This book brings together a range of perspectives on the governance of surrogacy in Canada. It offers insight into how to address the challenges of regulating, and how to (re)think the governance of surrogacy in ways that address the health, well-being, and autonomy of surrogates. It also provides long-awaited data about how surrogacy is occurring.

This book brings together a range of critical perspectives on the governance of surrogacy in Canada. The chapters offer insight into how to address the challenges of regulating surrogacy (in Canada and elsewhere), and how to (re)think the governance of surrogacy in ways that address the health, well-being, and autonomy of surrogates. It also provides long-awaited empirical data about how surrogacy in Canada is occurring. In a critical period when long-awaited regulations on reimbursement are being developed and proposals for major reforms of the existing regulatory framework are being made, this book identifies important concerns about the experience of surrogacy in Canada, and makes recommendations for change. In particular, the chapters address: the ongoing struggle to address women’s autonomy in the context of surrogacy; the lack of empirical research on surrogacy and the importance of this type of research in developing effective and responsive law and policy in Canada; complex governance questions that arise under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act and the ongoing debate about whether the Act should be reformed; and issues of internationalization, including the practice of transnational surrogacy, whether it be Canadians seeking surrogates abroad or foreign intended parents seeking surrogates in Canada.