(Photo by UN Kat SF via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0 DEED)
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As the war in Ukraine continues, Ukrainian women are looking for ways to make money. Participation in the global trend of international commercialized surrogacy is one such way. Before the war, Ukraine was already the largest provider of commercial surrogates after the United States. The war heavily reduced the levels of Ukrainian commercial surrogacy. However, four years after the Russian invasion, the market has nearly returned to its former size.
A new law proposed by the Ukrainian parliament wants to ban this commercialized market, following in the footsteps of countries like Thailand and India. This is not the first time the Ukrainian parliament has proposed regulations on surrogacy. In 2023, the parliament debated on a new law that would pause international surrogacy during times of war. The bill was never implemented, as it was rejected and withdrawn from consideration. The new law and the ongoing global trend show how globalization reaches even the most intimate parts of humanity: a woman’s womb.
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The international commercialized surrogacy market has grown over the past years. From 2011 to 2022, the market expanded by 283%. The market was worth USD 27.9 billion in 2025 and is estimated to grow to 201.8 billion $USD by 2034. Surrogacy is also gaining more mainstream media attention as more celebrities are turning to surrogacy.
However, it is not always easy for intended parents to find a surrogate mother. Many countries have strong regulations regarding surrogacy. Some countries permit only altruistic surrogacy, where the surrogate mother receives no financial compensation. Other countries, such as Spain, France, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and China, have banned surrogacy altogether. The reasons for banning surrogacy can vary from country to country.
Some countries find the practice unethical because of religious beliefs. Pope Francis called for a global ban on surrogacy in 2024 because he finds surrogacy “a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs.” Others see it as morally wrong to commodify the human body in this way. People also raise concerns about child welfare, issues of the child’s well-being, or the risk of child trafficking.
Commercial surrogacy has grown massively over the past decade, and the regulations in countries where the business was booming have sharpened in recent years. Before Thailand banned commercial surrogacy in 2015, it was a popular destination for the global surrogate market.
India followed in Thailand’s footsteps, banning commercial surrogacy in 2017 after being known as a commercial surrogacy hub. In 2012, 50% of the 25,000 surrogate babies born in India were intended for international parents.
Georgia also proposed a ban on commercial surrogacy in 2023. It is no surprise that this law is now being proposed in Ukraine, which is, alongside Georgia, the most popular destination for cheap commercial surrogacy. As these cases highlight, countries impacted by the increasing demand for surrogacy are the ones introducing new laws around the practice.
New Global Economic System
Behind these ethical and legal objections lies a more structural story of economic globalization. Due to a more globalized world, large companies move their production to countries with fewer regulations to cut costs. This outsourcing can lead to ethical issues, as can be seen in the fast fashion industry. Factories in countries with fewer regulations often provide unsafe working conditions, poor worker rights, low pay, and long hours. Of the 60 million workers employed in fast fashion factories worldwide less than 2% earn a living wage.
This same logic also applies to intimate labour, which involves providing services through the body, including domestic, care, and sex work. Frequently, migrant women are providers of intimate labour. International commercialized surrogacy is another form of intimate labour, offering a service to the global market that is both bodily and personal. In the same way fast fashion relocates production to cut costs, commercial surrogacy relocates reproduction to countries where it is cheaper and less regulated.
The globalization of production, as fast fashion illustrates, creates serious human rights concerns. The reasons why many countries ban commercial surrogacy make it clear that globalized surrogacy is no exception to exploitation. Countries without strong surrogacy regulations are more prone to violations of surrogates’ rights, including cases where surrogates fall victim to human trafficking.
In 2024, Argentinian prosecutors accused an international surrogacy ring of withholding payment from surrogate mothers who had miscarriages. The Indian government also started considering stricter regulations after a child of intended Japanese parents was left behind in India. The government wanted to prevent future commercial exploitation of vulnerable women and children, as the Health Minister noted.
The Case of Ukraine
While countries such as India and Thailand banned commercial surrogacy, Ukraine’s commercial surrogacy market was rapidly growing. This attracts a lot of Ukrainian women who are struggling to get out of poverty. Women usually receive 15.000 – 20.000 $USD after giving birth. Women are often considering doing surrogacy multiple times, as it gives them the financial stability they otherwise couldn’t achieve.
As a surrogacy hub for foreign intended parents, the lack of regulation frequently led to problems for all parties involved. For example, during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, intended parents were not allowed to enter the country to get their newborn baby from the surrogate mother. Intended parents can also be dissatisfied with the newborn because the baby does not match their DNA or has a disability. As a result, babies are left behind in local hospitals and put in childcare facilities in Ukraine.
Even though presented as highly professional, many clinics and the parties involved operate off the books to avoid taxes, making the situation even more dangerous for the vulnerable women they attract. Surrogate mothers experience a lot of abuse because of the unregulated market. Recent cases of pregnant women in their last trimester being made to live in ill-maintained apartments in isolation show the extent of the abuse.
With the rules in the hands of companies and clinics, surrogate mothers often have minimal rights. The women do not receive support or compensation if something goes wrong during the pregnancy. The whole process lacks sufficient mental support, which results in unresolved trauma and psychological issues.
Women’s Voices about Commercial Surrogacy
The proposed ban stands to benefit the vulnerable women and children involved in the risky commercial surrogacy industry. However, many Ukrainian women find new economic opportunities through the surrogate industry. “I didn’t come here to get rich. I came because I had no other way to keep my son safe and care for my displaced family,” says Anna, who sees no other options to stay financially stable after she and her family had to flee to another area in Ukraine due to the war.
(Photo by Donetsk Regional Military Civil Administration via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0 DEED)
Because of the economic instability in the country, it is hard to find a job with financial compensation that matches the amount you get from surrogacy. Just like Karina, who chose a surrogacy career after the Ukrainian war started and plans to have as many surrogate babies as possible. As Karina states, “At first, becoming a surrogate made me angry and disappointed, but now I’ve just accepted it.”
Women are not only dependent on commercial surrogacy in Ukraine, but also in other countries like Georgia, where this practice might soon be banned. “The surrogacy programme helped me a lot with all of my daughter’s medical expenses and other household costs as well. It’s been a real relief for the whole family”, says surrogate mother Elena to news channel Al Jazeera.
Experts are hesitant about banning commercial surrogacy because of the impact it would have on surrogate and struggling mothers and women. “Yes, there have absolutely been abusive cases…but in some studies, the women are saying they actually prefer being a surrogate than other ways of earning a living.” states Grace Kao, professor of ethics at Claremont School of Theology in California.
Researcher in reproductive mobilities Polina Vlasenko told Al Jazeera that “instead of providing [surrogate mothers] with better protections and security provisions, the government is deciding to just ban the whole practice, which basically takes their job away from them.”
As the quotes above highlight, surrogacy for many women is the only solution to stay out of poverty. Despite the exploitation and risks of abuse, it is important to consider what could possibly happen to these women and families if the ban gets installed. Many Ukrainian women might have no other financial opportunities left, especially because of the ongoing war.
An Uncertain Future
Whether or not the law will actually pass in Ukraine is not yet certain. However, the ambiguity of the commercial surrogate market makes the consequences of the proposed ban complex.
As globalization increasingly reaches every kind of economic exchange, the woman’s womb is becoming a global market rife with human rights abuse. Unregulated commercial surrogacy invites all kinds of exploitation of vulnerable women and children.
However, women who need financial income in a country with limited options depend on whatever options are currently available. For many Ukrainian women, surrogacy is the only option to stay out of poverty. In addition to the war, this ban will make their future more uncertain.
Perhaps the question is not whether the ban should pass, but why banning commercial surrogacy is the only way to regulate the industry. Are there not options that could benefit the protection of surrogate mothers and children, without having to ban the practice altogether?
Stronger rights and oversight, for instance, could serve the same goal while leaving surrogates the option to seek help if they are abused or exploited. A ban would only foreclose seeking help entirely, leaving women even more vulnerable. Governments should protect these women from being profited off by the globalized market, instead of criminalizing them for it.
Edited by Khushi Mehta
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