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Opinion,
Comment & Reviews
Reproductive technologies |
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Surrogacy
By Maxine Lattimer
On 21/5, it was announced that Kim Cotton had resigned from
Cots, Childlessness Overcome Through Surrogacy, the network
she founded in 1988 which acts as an introduction agency for
people who wish to find a surrogate mother or those who wish
to become surrogates. It has led to almost 300 surrogate babies
in the last 10 years.
Kim Cotton carried Britain's first surrogate baby in 1985
when she was paid £6,500 to have a baby for an infertile couple.
This caused a public outcry at the time, especially after
it was revealed that she had sold her story to a newspaper
for £15,000. When the baby was born it was made a ward of
court but after seven days a court decreed that the baby could
be adopted by the couple who had paid her. In 1991, she gave
birth to twins for an infertile friend who did not pay her.
Kim Cotton spoke about her decision to resign, which was motivated
by reports of a government crackdown on the practice: "I am
resigning as chairperson of Cots and from surrogacy all together
because I feel that we just can't battle on. Surrogacy will
continue, in one form or another, and I don't think you can
ever underestimate what infertile couples will do to overcome
their childlessness. Instead of open and honest payment for
surrogates, everything above board, it's going to actually
drive it totally underground. Every child has a right to its
origins. Any child born through donor insemination or donor
egg should be told of its birthmother, and that's impossible
with the laws that we have now. Adults choose to make decisions
but the children don't choose to be born. So they have to
be the most important consideration in any future policy making.''
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