Introduction: Regulatory Pasts and Futures

AuthorAlana Cattapan, Vanessa Gruben, & Angela Cameron
Pages1-28
1
Introduction
   
Alana Cattapan, Vanessa Gruben, & Angela Cameron
Surrogacy where a woman bears a child expressly for the purpose of
surrendering custody of that child upon birth to another person or per-
sons1is on the rise. Reported surrogacy cycles in Canada have increased
from less than one hundred a year when data were rst collected in ,
to more than six hundred a year in .2 Yet, despite the increasing num-
bers of women engaging in surrogacy, we still know little about who surro-
gates are and their experiences of surrogacy in the Canadian context.3 The
scarcity of data has been attributed to a lack of clarity in the  Assisted
Human Reproduction Act (AHRA), whose provisions prohibiting payment
(but allowing for the reimbursement of expenditures) make those engaged
in surrogacy wary of disclosure.4 Even less is known about how Canadians
engage in surrogacy abroad.
The media tells us a little. In an article for Hazlitt, on online magazine,
freelance journalist Alison Motluk describes an experience of a surrogacy
1 Ontario Law Reform Commission, Report on Human Artif‌icial Reproduction and Related
Matters (Toronto: Ontario Law Reform Commission, 1985) at 91 [OLRC Report].
2 Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, News Release, “Multiple Pregnancy Rate
Resulting from IVF at an All-Time Low of 9.7% in Canada” Cision (2 November 2017),
online: www.newswire.ca/news-releases/multiple-pregnancy-rate-resulting-from-
ivf-at-an-all-time-low-of-97-in-canada-654686493.html.
3 See, for example, Pamela M White, Chapter 2, this volume.
4 Assisted Human Reproduction Act, SC 2004, c 2 [AHRA].
2 |  ,  ,   
in Canada as undermining the autonomy of the woman acting as a sur-
rogate and causing stress and nancial hardship.5 Against her wishes and
clinical guidelines, the surrogate had four embryos implanted in her uterus,
later undergoing a surgical procedure (selective reduction) to reduce the
number of fetuses to two.6 Throughout her pregnancy, the intended par-
ents raised concerns about the health care expenses she was incurring,
which suggests that tradeos were being made between the best interests
of the surrogate and the family ’s nances.7 A recent series on international
surrogacy for the Toronto Star painted a dierent picture, focusing on the
kindness of Canadian surrogates in enabling families from all over the
world to have the children they desired, and portraying Canada positively
as a destination for international surrogacy.8
While our empirical knowledge of surrogacy in the Canadian context
comes largely from media reports9 and a selection of master’s theses and doc-
5 Alison Motluk, “Anatomy of a Surrogacy” (6 November 2017), Hazlitt, online: https://
hazlitt.net/longreads/anatomy-surrogacy [Motluk, “Anatomy”].
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Robert Cribb & Emma Jarratt, “Canadian Surrogates and Their Extraordinary Altruism”
Toronto Star (17 January 2016), online: www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/07/17/
canadian-surrogates-and-their-extraordinary-altruism.html.
9 Alison Motluk, “The Baby-Making Business: On the Front Lines of Toronto’s Boom-
ing, Semi-legal Surrogacy Market” (3 February 2014), Toronto Life (blog), online:
https://torontolife.com/city/baby-making-business-surrogacy-market-toronto
[Motluk, “Baby-Making”]; Scott Tracey, “Surrogates Will Continue, With or Without
Government Endorsement” Guelph Mercury (29 April 2004) A3; Hilary Stead, “Guelph
Woman Has Womb for Hire” [Brantford] Expositor (31 July 1999) B6; Robert Matas,
“Surrogate Mother Tells Her Opponents to Respect DecisionGlobe and Mail (29 May
1987) E12; Hamida Ghafour, “Netting a Newborn: Infertile Couples Are Shopping the
Internet for Surrogate Mothers to Carry Their Child” Toronto Star (16 February 2001)
1; Andrew Duf‌fy, “Couple Risks Prison to Hire Surrogate Mom” Edmonton Journal
(2 November 1996) A3; Dennis Bueckert, “Plenty of Wombs for Rent: Surrogate
Motherhood Phenomenon Growing in Canada, Advocates Say” Winnipeg Free Press
(31 May 1999) B1; Tom Blackwell, “Illegal Purchase of Sperm, Eggs and Surrogacy
Services Leads to 27 Charges against Canadian Fertility Company and CEO” National
Post (15 February 2013), online: http://nationalpost.com/news/illegal-purchase-of-
sperm-eggs-and-surrogacy-services-leads-to-27-charges-against-canadian-fertility-
company-and-ceo [Blackwell, “Illegal Purchase”]; Paula Adamick, “Surrogate Mother
Defends Her Role” Toronto Star (27 May 1988) A3; Laura Pratt, “Womb Service: An
Inside Look at Surrogate Motherhood” Today’s Parent (June 2000) at 66.

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