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Where am I now? Lawlink > Law Reform Commission > Publications > 3. Payment of the Surrogate Mother
Research Report 2 (1987) - Surrogate Motherhood: Australian Public Opinion
3. Payment of the Surrogate Mother
I. OVERALL RESPONSE
3.1 Attitudes to surrogacy arrangements may well vary considerably depending upon whether the arrangements contemplate payment of a fee to the surrogate mother (which might be termed “commercial” surrogacy), or whether the surrogate mother is to receive either no fee at all, or, at most, reimbursement for her medical expenses. These latter two types of arrangement might be described as “altruistic” surrogacy.
3.2 The Commission’s survey sought the attitudes of Australians to these issues. Accordingly, interviewees were next asked how, in their opinion, the surrogate mother should be paid. The available choices were:
- No payment at all;
- Payment for her medical expenses only;
- Payment for her medical expenses plus a fee agreed with the couple.
3.3 There is clearly support among Australians for providing some form of payment to the surrogate mother. Forty per cent considered that the surrogate mother should be paid for her medical expenses plus a fee agreed with the couple. A further 34 % considered that she should receive payment for medical expenses only. Only 17 % thought that there should be no payment at all. The overall results are shown in Table 3.1, together with an analysis by the sex of the respondents. Figure 2 illustrates the overall results.
3.4 The pattern in New South Wales was similar to the Australian pattern. There was little difference between attitude expressed by people residing in Sydney and those New South Wales residents living outside Sydney.
3.5 There were some differences between the views of men and women on this issue. More women than men considered that there should be at least some payment. As Table 3.1 shows, more men than women were in favour of “commercial” surrogacy, involving the payment of both medical expenses and a fee to the surrogate mother.
Table 3.1
Payment of Surrogate Mother Overall and by Sex
| | Total | Males | Females |
| | % |
| No payment | 16.9 | 18.9 | 14.9 |
| Expenses only | 34.1 | 29.7 | 38.3 |
| Expenses and fee | 39.9 | 41.7 | 38.2 |
| Can’t say | 9.1 | 9.7 | 8.5 |
| Number of respondents | 2476 | 1158 | 1318 |
II. AGE AND FAMILY STATUS
3.6 opinions varied quite noticeably according to the age of the respondent. The proportion who considered that the surrogate mother should receive payment for expenses as well as a fee was greatest in the youngest age group (14-24), and decreased with age. On the other hand, the proportion advocating no payment at all increased with age, particularly for men. Further details appear in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2
Payment of Surrogate Mother by Age
| | 14 - 24 | 25 - 34 | 35 - 49 | 50+ |
| | % |
| No payment | 11.8 | 13.3 | 18.4 | 22.1 |
| Expenses only | 34.8 | 35.0 | 35.5 | 31.6 |
| Expenses and fee | 47.4 | 45.8 | 37.6 | 32.0 |
| Can’t say | 5.9 | 5.9 | 8.4 | 14.3 |
| Number of respondents | 478 | 577 | 659 | 762 |
3.7 The survey results were further analysed according to both the age and family status of respondents. A higher proportion of men and women aged 14-34 who were married with no children said that the surrogate mother should receive payment of both expenses and a fee, and a lower proportion of this group said that no payment should be made. In particular, of married women aged 14-34 with no children, 60% favoured commercial surrogacy (expenses and a fee), while only 6% of that group considered that no payment should be made. Older people were more inclined to the view that no payment should be made. Fewer older people favoured “commercial” surrogacy. More than one-quarter of married men aged 35 or over with no children considered that no payment should be made. Further information appears in Table 3.3.
Table 3.3
Payment of Surrogate Mother by Age and Family Status
| | Single
14-34 | Married
14-34
No Child | Married
14-34
Child | Married
35+
Child | Married
35+
No Child | Single
35+ |
| | % |
| No payment | 12.3 | 6.4 | 15.4 | 18.4 | 22.7 | 19.2 |
| Expenses only | 33.9 | 31.6 | 38.0 | 36.1 | 31.2 | 33.8 |
| Expenses and fee | 46.8 | 56.9 | 42.2 | 35.2 | 33.8 | 35.0 |
| Can’t say | 7.0 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 10.4 | 12.4 | 12.0 |
| Number of respondents | 521 | 141 | 393 | 467 | 622 | 332 |
III. ATTITUDE TO SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD ITSELF
3.8 The responses to the question regarding payment were analysed according to the overall attitudes to surrogate motherhood for married couples. Not surprisingly, attitudes to the payment of surrogate mothers depended very much on the respondents’ opinion of surrogate motherhood itself. About 40% of people who objected to surrogate motherhood considered that there should be no payment at all, compared with 6% of those who approved of surrogate motherhood and 4% of those who did not object to it. However almost one-fifth (19%) of those who objected to surrogate motherhood still considered that the surrogate mother should receive payment of both medical expenses and a fee. More than half of those who were in favour of surrogate motherhood or did not object to it also supported “commercial” surrogacy arrangements. These results appear in Table 3.4.
Table 3.4
Payment of Surrogate Mother by Opinion of Surrogate Motherhood
| | Approve
of | Do not
Object | Object
to | Need to
know more | No
opinion |
| | % |
| No payment | 5.6 | 3.7 | 40.5 | 8.5 | 8.7 |
| Expenses only | 36.8 | 38.5 | 28.4 | 38.4 | 10.8 |
| Expenses and fee | 54.2 | 55.2 | 18.6 | 39.5 | 23.2 |
| Can’t say | 3.4 | 2.6 | 12.5 | 13.6 | 57.2 |
| Number of respondents | 390 | 870 | 826 | 320 | 70 |
IV. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF FERTILITY PROBLEMS
3.9 Attitudes to the payment of a fee varied with experience of fertility problems. A greater proportion (47%) of Australians who had, or whose partner had, fertility problems considered that the surrogate mother should receive payment for medical expenses only, and a correspondingly lower proportion considered that both expenses and a fee should be paid. These results are shown in Table 3.5 and are illustrated in Figure 3.
Table 3.5
Payment of Surrogate Mother by Fertility Problems
| | Fertility problem experienced by |
| | Self/Partner | Someone in family | A friend | Don’t know anyone |
| | % |
| No payment | 14.3 | 13.3 | 16.6 | 17.0 |
| Expenses only | 46.8 | 41.7 | 30.8 | 35.0 |
| Expenses and fee | 33.6 | 39.9 | 45.8 | 41.2 |
| Can’t say | 5.3 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 6.9 |
| Number of respondents | 142 | 165 | 528 | 1276 |
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