Surrogacy and adoption are both rewarding experiences that allow prospective parents to complete their families. However, while they share many similarities, there are also many differences to take into account when comparing adoption vs. surrogacy. Here’s an honest comparison of both.
What is Surrogacy?
Surrogacy is a booming fertility treatment in which a woman agrees to carry a child to help prospective parents start a family. In a surrogacy arrangement, a woman who carries a pregnancy for another person or couple is called a surrogate or gestational carrier, while the patients are usually called intended parents.
What is Adoption?
Adoption is a legal process that transfers parental responsibility from the child’s birth parent to their adoptive parents. It is a permanent choice for birth parents. When you adopt, you legally take on all the rights & responsibilities of a child. It is a lifelong commitment through good times and the bad.
Adoption vs Surrogacy
At Global Star Surrogacy Clinic, we understand that making family-building decisions are not an easy one, so to help you make the right decision between surrogacy and adoption options, below we have provided you the knowledge and information needed to know the difference between the two options. Knowing the differences will help you to make the best decision for you and your baby.
Medical & Legal Processes
In surrogacy, the legal process is complex and it involves a planned pregnancy which is achieved through a series of medical procedures, as well as a legal contract that outlines each party’s roles, commitments, and responsibilities to the child.
In the adoption process, the same medical and legal procedures are not required, it doesn’t involve planned pregnancy and the legal adoption process takes place after the baby is born when the birth parents legally consent to the adoption and the adoptive parents are granted custody by the court. In surrogacy, the majority of the legal work is completed before the baby’s birth.
Involvement may vary
In the adoption process, adoptive parents have little control, depending on their relationship with the surrogate mother, they may or may not be involved in most of the pregnancy stages.
However, in surrogacy, the intended parents are involved throughout the pregnancy experience and are generally able to be present for many key milestones, from the embryo transfer to their baby’s birth.
Laws
There are clear and defined laws regarding the adoption process when compared to the surrogacy process.
In adoption process, a prospective birth mother can change her mind and discontinue her adoption plan at any time until she legally executes consent
But in surrogacy, the surrogate mother cannot change her mind and decide to parent the child because of the laws, so there is never any uncertainty about who will parent the baby in a surrogacy arrangement.
Screening and Prenatal Care
In surrogacy, the birth mother undergoes a thorough medical screening before they can be matched to prospective intended parents. The legal contracts signed by the surrogate and intended parents often also include provisions to ensure the surrogate is receiving proper prenatal care.
In adoption, birth mother screening is often less thorough and invasive and they may or may not choose to receive prenatal care.
Genetics
In adoption, the birth mother is the biological mother of her child, but that doesn’t apply to surrogacy.
The surrogacy process allows one or both intended parents to be the genetic parents of their child. Through choosing a gestational surrogacy option, the surrogate mother is not related to the child she carries. Rather, she becomes pregnant through an embryo transfer using the intended parents’ or donors’ genetic materials. If you feel strongly about maintaining a genetic link to the child, you should consider gestational surrogacy.
Compensation & Cost
While adoption can be expensive, it is often surrogacy, as a more expensive option, considering that the surrogate and embryo transfer is involved in the process. There are fewer financing options available for intended parents through surrogacy than prospective adoptive parents. For example, there is no federal tax credit for surrogacy like there is for adoption. The cost included in surrogacy is medical expenses for IVF, out of pocket expenses incurred by the surrogate, legal costs.
Some Interesting Facts
