It's All About the Parents x 10,000,000

It's one of the more disturbing stories we've seen in awhile. We'd heard of surrogate mothers, and we'd heard of gay guys using surrogate mothers to misappropriate a child of their own. We didn't know the gay surrogate route was a trend, and we didn't know women now make a virtual career out of carrying children for other people. Here's the link to the NYT article. A few excerpts:

The exact number of surrogates who have worked with gay couples is unknown, but close to half of the 60 or so agencies and law firms around the country that broker arrangements between surrogate mothers and prospective parents work with gay couples or are seeking to, through advertising.

Surrogates, who are paid about $20,000 above and beyond medical expenses to carry a child, are responsible for approximately 1,000 births a year, according to the Organization of Parents Through Surrogacy, a nonprofit group in Gurnee, Ill., that records births brokered through agencies and privately over the Internet.

In the last 13 years, Ms. Stiller has had five children: one with her first husband, two with her current husband and two more as a surrogate.

Her first excursion into the world of surrogacy, for a Florida husband and wife, left her feeling unappreciated and depleted, she said.

In her 37th week, Ms. Stiller experienced early contractions and called the woman, who drove to Texas right away, but Ms. Stiller remained displeased with her level of engagement.

"She was here for two and half weeks, and she never made an opportunity to share in my family," Ms. Stiller said. "It was very important for me to have my children see that we were helping to create a family, that Mommy wasn't giving away a brother or a sister."

[Rent-a-plot] Ms. Buras remains committed, and plans to return for another attempt in June, despite the limitations their efforts have placed on her intimate life. According to her contract, Ms. Buras cannot have sex with her husband from one month before the transfer to one month after. Though her husband has been very supportive, she explained, "I can't say that it doesn't bother him, because it does."