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39 Cumb. L. Rev. 15 (2008-2009)
Crossing Bodies, Crossing Borders: International Surrogacy between the United States and India

handle is hein.journals/cumlr39 and id is 17 raw text is: CROSSING BODIES, CROSSING BORDERS: INTERNATIONAL SURROGACY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND INDIA USHA RENGACHARY SMERDON' I. INTRODUCTION With an increasingly restrictive global market for international adoption and an increasingly global expansion of surrogacy pro- grams, it is almost certain that cross-border surrogacy arrangements will flourish.2 The market supply will become concentrated in na- tions such as India, which have access to contemporary technology and skilled individuals who can provide surrogacy programs at lower cost, to serve the demand in wealthier nations such as the United States. Yet little has been done on a national level in India or the United States to protect the interests of Indian women who serve as surrogate mothers, the children they bear, or those indi- viduals who travel overseas to commission pregnancies. A global market has developed with few checks and balances, and those who stand to suffer the most in this free market are those with the least bargaining power - women and children. This article establishes that international surrogacy arrangements between commissioning parties in the United States and surrogate mothers in India should come to an end. Part II provides an overview of surrogacy arrangements and re- lated new reproductive technologies. Part III describes the current landscape of international surrogacy in India and the reasons for its rise in popularity. Part IV discusses ethical concerns pertaining to surrogacy in India. Part V reveals the murky parentage and citizen- ship status of babies commissioned by American parents who are born to surrogates in India. Part VI concludes with the recom- mendation that abolition of international surrogacy is the only so- 'J.D. Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (1996), B.S. University of Missouri, Columbia (1990). 1 wish to offer my deepest appreciation to my family for their patience while I completed this article. See Iris Leibowitz-Dori, Note, Womb for Rent: The Future of International Trade in Surrogacy, 6 MINN. J. GLOBAL TRADE 329, 332 (1997) (noting that adoption inter- mediaries have already taken advantage of the strong economic incentives of the international baby market with surrogacy soon to follow as a natural substitute to adoption). Although the focus of this article is on the United States and India, the princi- ples underlying the recommendation that international surrogacy should be banned apply to international surrogacy among all nations.

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