How the pandemic is putting a strain on the surrogacy industry

WAMU 88.5 | By Kathryn Fink, Mia Estrada

Published June 13, 2022 at 1:41 PM EDT

A pregnant woman holds her stomach in Sydney, Australia.

According to the CDC, gestational surrogates gave birth to 18,400 babies between 1999 and 2013. That’s an arrangement where the surrogate is not genetically related to the child.

For many struggling to have children, surrogacy is a dream come true. But there’s also an ever-growing debate surrounding the topic — about safety, health, and high costs.

The pandemic has also put a strain on the industry.

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Lee and his husband are contending with the same issue as thousands of other aspiring parents — most often same-sex couples or couples who are facing fertility issues — in the United States: an approximately 60 percent decrease in potential surrogates, according to the 10 agencies The New York Times spoke to, along with doubled wait times and significantly higher fees.

Covid poses many risks to the pregnancy itself.

We talk with an OBGYN, a surrogate, and a reproductive lawyer about the state of surrogacy and the laws surrounding it.