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Where am I now? Lawlink > Law Reform Commission > Publications > 8. Surrogacy for Non-Medical Reasons
Research Report 2 (1987) - Surrogate Motherhood: Australian Public Opinion
8. Surrogacy for Non-Medical Reasons
I. OVERALL RESPONSE
8.1 In the earlier part of the survey, respondents were asked for their views on the availability of surrogacy arrangements to married couples who could not have children because of medical reasons. It remained to ask respondents for their opinion as to the availability of surrogacy arrangements f or non-medical reasons. These might also be regarded as reasons of convenience. Accordingly, respondents were asked to consider the case of a woman who is capable of bearing a child but, for reasons of convenience, would prefer a surrogate mother to bear the child for her. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they approved of a surrogate mother being used for any of the following three reasons:
- occupation (for example, where a woman does not want to take time off from her career during her pregnancy);
- lifestyle (for example, where a woman or couple with an active sport or social life do not want to change their lifestyle during pregnancy);
- cosmetic (for example, concern about appearance during and after the pregnancy).
8.2 While 79% did not approve of surrogate motherhood for any of these non-medical reasons, 11% approved of it for occupational reasons, 7% for lifestyle reasons and 5% for cosmetic reasons. No other reasons were nominated by respondents. Men were rather more inclined than women to approve surrogacy arrangements for each of the three non-medical reasons advanced. Consistently with that result, 84% of women (as against 75% of men) did not approve of the use of surrogacy arrangements for any of the reasons of convenience suggested. These results appear in Table 8.1.
Table 8.1
Approval for Reasons of Convenience Overall and by Sex
| | Total | Males | Females |
| | % |
| Occupation | 10.5 | 12.7 | 8.2 |
| Lifestyle | 7.1 | 8.5 | 5.6 |
| Cosmetics | 4.9 | 5.8 | 4.0 |
| None | 79.1 | 74.7 | 83.5 |
| Total gave answer | 94.0 | 93.2 | 94.7 |
| Can’t say | 6.0 | 6.8 | 5.3 |
| Number of respondents | 2476 | 1158 | 1318 |
8.3 The pattern of responses from New South Wales was similar to that for Australia generally. People living in New South Wales areas outside Sydney showed a slightly higher approval rate for each reason than did people in Sydney.
II. AGE AND FAMILY STATUS
8.4 Of particular interest is the high proportion (24%) of young men compared to young women who approved of surrogate motherhood for occupational reasons. Only 16% of young women shared this view. These results appear in Table 8.2.
Table 8.2
Approval for Reasons of Convenience by Age and Sex
| | Males | Females |
| | 14 - 24 | 25 - 34 | 35 - 49 | 50+ | 14 - 24 | 25 - 34 | 35 - 59 | 50+ |
| | % |
| Occupation | 24.0 | 11.9 | 7.1 | 8.7 | 15.5 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 7.2 |
| Lifestyle | 13.2 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 8.3 | 6.6 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.9 |
| Cosmetics | 6.2 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 4.4 |
| None | 63.5 | 77.6 | 82.0 | 75.5 | 73.9 | 86.1 | 88.6 | 84.9 |
| Total gave answer | 95.0 | 94.5 | 94.5 | 89.6 | 93.4 | 95.2 | 96.2 | 94.3 |
| Can’t say | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 10.4 | 6.6 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 5.7 |
| Number of respondents | 235 | 262 | 291 | 370 | 243 | 315 | 368 | 392 |
8.5 In general, higher proportions of young single men (aged 14-34) supported the use of surrogate motherhood for reasons of convenience. Rates of approval among older single men (aged 35 or over) remained relatively high. In each age and family status category, more men than women supported the use of surrogate motherhood for reasons of convenience, although the differences of opinion were not great.
III. EDUCATION
8.6 More than 80% of people who were educated at least to intermediate or 4th form level did not approve of surrogate motherhood for reasons of convenience, compared with about 75% of those with a lower level of education. The level of education did not appear to be a determining influence on Australian opinion concerning extending the availability of surrogacy arrangements.
IV. RELIGION
8.7 Members of the Presbyterian, Uniting, Methodist and Baptist Churches (that is, “Other Protestants”) objected more than members of any other religious group (and more than people with no religion) to the use of surrogacy arrangements for reasons of convenience. In fact, 86% of these “Other Protestants” did not approve of surrogacy arrangements for any of the reasons given. By comparison, 82% of Anglicans, 77% of “Other Christians” and people with no religion, and 76% of Catholics did not approve of surrogacy arrangements for any of these reasons of convenience. Those identifying themselves as having no religion were more inclined to approve of surrogacy arrangements for occupational, lifestyle and cosmetic reasons. Further details appear in Table 8.3.
Table 8.3
Approval for Reasons of Convenience by Religion
| | Catholic | Anglican | Other Protestant | Other Christian | Non Christian | No
religion |
| | % |
| Occupation | 11.1 | 9.6 | 6.2 | 11.9 | 17.7 | 13.6 |
| Lifestyle | 6.4 | 6.9 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 14.4 | 9.4 |
| Cosmetics | 5.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 16.1 | 6.5 |
| None | 76.0 | 81.6 | 85.6 | 76.7 | 66.2 | 76.8 |
| Total gave answer | 92.2 | 95.7 | 96.1 | 92.1 | 90.5 | 94.3 |
| Can’t say | 7.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 7.9 | 9.5 | 5.7 |
| Number of respondents | 673 | 706 | 408 | 262 | 22 | 386 |
V. FEDERAL VOTING INTENTION
8.8 There was very little difference on this issue according to federal voting intention. Between 78% and 81% of people intending to vote for each political party did not approve of tile use of surrogate motherhood for any reasons of convenience.
VI. ATTITUDE TO SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD ITSELF
8.9 People with a favourable opinion of surrogate motherhood for married Couples were not the only ones who approved of its use for reasons of convenience. Surprisingly, perhaps, some people approved of its use for reasons of convenience, even though they had recorded their objection to surrogate motherhood for married couples.
8.10 Some patterns were evident in the responses. A higher proportion (84%) of those who objected to surrogate motherhood for married couples also did not approve of its use for any of the reasons of convenience. In the case of those who did not object to surrogate motherhood, and of those who specifically approved of it for married couples, the proportions decreased to 82% and 72% respectively.
8.11 A similar pattern was observed for each of the reasons of convenience. For example, of those who approved of surrogate motherhood for married couples, 16% also approved of its use for reasons related to occupation. Approval declined to 12% of those who did not object to surrogate motherhood for such persons, and 7% of those who did object. Further details appear in Table 8.4.
Table 8.4
Approval for Reasons of Convenience by Opinion of Surrogate Motherhood
| | Attitude to Surrogate Motherhood for Married Couples. |
| | Approve
of | Do not Object | Object | Need to know more | No
opinion |
| | % |
| Attitude to Surrogate Motherhood for these Reasons: |
| Occupation | 16.1 | 12.1 | 7.1 | 9.2 | 5.6 |
| Lifestyle | 9.4 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 4.0 |
| Cosmetics | 8.8 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 5.5 | 2.4 |
| None | 71.9 | 81.6 | 84.0 | 77.2 | 43.4 |
| Total gave answer | 94.9 | 97.5 | 94.3 | 92.7 | 50.7 |
| Can’t say | 5.1 | 2.5 | 5.7 | 7.3 | 49.3 |
| Number of respondents | 390 | 870 | 826 | 320 | 70 |
VII. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF FERTILITY PROBLEMS
8.12 Experience of fertility problems did have a bearing on the attitudes to surrogacy for non-medical reasons. Some 79% of people who did not know anyone with a fertility problem did not approve of surrogacy in such circumstances. By contrast, 82% of people who knew somebody with a fertility problem, and 88% of those who themselves had a fertility problem, did not approve of surrogacy for reason of convenience.
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