AFP/Google.com Examines Use Of Surrogate Mothers Among Gay Male Couples

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 08 May 2008 - 9:00 PST

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AFP/Google.com on Tuesday examined the increasing number of gay male couples who are having children through surrogacy services. According to AFP/Google.com, the number of gay couples in the U.S. who have children through surrogacy or adoption is increasing. The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that between one million and nine million children in the country under age 18 have same-sex parents.

Sanford Benardo -- president of Northeast Assisted Fertility Group in Boston, Mass. -- said that gay couples using surrogate mothers to have children "is not looked at anymore as something so weird or strange." Benardo added, "More and more people are doing it." The process at Northeast Assisted Fertility Group costs at least $100,000, with $25,000 going to the surrogate and $4,000 to $10,000 going to the egg donor. The rest goes to the agency, medical costs and legal fees, AFP/Google.com reports.

John Weltman -- president of Circle Surrogacy, which helps people locate egg donors and surrogate mothers, and assists with the legal and medical insurance process -- said that when the company was launched 12 years ago, 10% of its clients were gay couples. He added that currently 80% are same-sex couples from 29 countries. "It is a very successful business," Weltman said, adding, "In 12 years we have grown 6,000% with no borrowing whatsoever and profit made every month" (AFP/Google.com, 5/6).

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