I. OVERALL RESPONSE

6.1 Another important issue that arises in surrogacy arrangements is whether the identity of the surrogate mother should be revealed to the child. This question is analogous to that arising in the context of adoption procedures, where it may become a matter of great importance for some persons, on learning that they were adopted, to seek out their natural parents. Accordingly, respondents in the Commission’s survey were asked whether, after the child becomes an adult, the child should be allowed to learn the identity of the surrogate mother.

6.2 There was very strong support for the view that the child should be entitled to learn the identity of the surrogate mother. Of all Australians, 71% supported disclosure of her identity, while only 17% would not have revealed the identity, and 11% were undecided (see Figure 5). Almost three-quarters (74%) of women respondents believed that the child should be able to learn the identity of the surrogate mother, while slightly fewer men (69%) were of that view. These results appear in Table 6.1.


Table 6.1
Disclosure of identifying information Overall and by Sex

	Total	Males	Females
	%
Yes	71.4	68.9	73.8
No	17.3	19.2	15.4
Can’t say	11.3	11.9	10.7
Number of respondents	2476	1158	1318

6.3 In the Commission’s survey, the pattern of responses from New South Wales was the same as for Australia generally. A greater proportion of people living outside Sydney (74%) considered the child should be entitled to the information than did those living in Sydney (69%).

6.4 Support in this survey for the disclosure of the surrogate mother’s identity was much higher than rates observed in public opinion polls on other aspects of artificial conception where the polls included questions on the entitlement of the child to information. In a national opinion poll conducted in 1983, 47% believed that children should be told that they were conceived through AID (artificial insemination by donor sperm), while 38% believed children should not be told and 15% did not know.¹

6.5 In another national opinion poll conducted in 1983, a question was asked about access to information about the name of the gamete donor. Only 30% believed that a child should be entitled to be given the name of the donor (of sperm and of ovum), while 49% believed that the child should not be able to compel the giving of this information.² The author of the report on the 1983 survey commented that this response was surprising in the light of the revision of legislation regarding the access of adopted children to information about their natural parents.³

II. AGE AND FAMILY STATUS

6.6 Responses to this question displayed a marked trend with age. Younger people, particularly young women (84%), were most in favour of disclosing the identity of the surrogate mother. The proportion decreased with age to 60% of men and women aged 50 or over. These results are shown in Table 6.2.


Table 6.2
Disclosure of identifying information by Age and Sex

	14 - 24	25 - 34	35 - 49	50+
	%
	Males
Yes	75.4	75.8	67.1	59.8
No	14.7	17.0	21.5	22.6
Can’t say	9.9	7.2	11.4	17.6
Number of respondents	235	262	291	370
	Females
Yes	83.7	81.2	78.5	58.9
No	6.5	10.7	12.3	26.9
Can’t say	9.8	8.1	9.2	14.2
Number of respondents	243	315	368	392

6.7 When age was considered together with family status, a greater proportion (85%) of single women under 35 agreed that the child should be entitled to learn the identity of the surrogate mother. The corresponding proportion for single men under 35 was lower, at 74%. About 80% of men and women under 35 who were married (with or without children) supported disclosure of the surrogate mother's identity, as did married women aged 35 or over with children. Further details appear in Table 6.3.


Table 6.3
Disclosure of identifying information by Age and Family Status by Sex

	Single	Married 14 - 34 No Child	Married 14 - 34 Child	Married 35+ Child	Married 35+ No Child	Single 35+
	%
	Males
Yes	73.7	79.4	78.1	66.4	59.9	65.2
No	15.4	16.0	16.5	19.8	23.6	22.6
Can’t say	11.0	4.6	5.4	13.8	16.5	12.2
Number of respondents	286	68	143	215	315	131
	Females
Yes	84.7	80.7	80.5	79.1	65.9	56.3
No	6.2	8.0	11.5	11.0	22.0	29.2
Can’t say	9.1	11.3	8.0	9.9	12.1	14.5
Number of respondents	235	73	250	252	307	201

III. ATTITUDE TO SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD ITSELF

6.8 The attitudes of people to disclosure of this information varied according to their opinion of surrogate motherhood. Well over three-quarters of those who approved of or did not object to, surrogate motherhood for married couples considered that the child should be entitled to information that would identify the surrogate mother. While the majority of those who objected to surrogate motherhood nevertheless considered that the child should be entitled to this information (66%), a larger proportion (21%) than overall (17%) considered that they should not. These details appear in Table 6.4.


Table 6.4
Disclosure of identifying information by Opinion of Surrogate Motherhood

	Approve of	Do not object	Object to	Need to know more	No opinion
	%
Yes	78.1	76.9	65.9	70.1	37.5
No	15.1	16.8	21.0	14.0	9.0
Can’t say	6.8	6.3	13.1	16.0	53.5
Number of respondents	390	870	826	320	70

IV. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF FERTILITY PROBLEMS

6.9 There were some differences among people who knew someone with a fertility problem. Almost 80% of those who themselves had, or whose partner had, a fertility problem considered that the child should be entitled to this identifying information. Amongst those who had someone in the family with a fertility problem, slightly fewer (69%) than overall (71%) took the same view, while a greater proportion (22%) than overall considered the child should not be so entitled. Further details appear in Table 6.5.


Table 6.5
Disclosure of identifying information by Fertility Problems

	Fertility problem experienced by
	Self/ Partner	Someone in family	A friend	Don’t know anyone
	%
Yes	79.4	69.0	75.4	73.5
No	15.6	21.6	17.0	16.9
Can’t say	5.0	9.4	7.6	9.6
Number of respondents	142	165	528	1276

 

2. Margaret Brumby “Australian community attitudes to in vitro fertilization” (1983) 2 Medical Journal of Australia 650 at 651-2.