Transnational surrogacy, when people travel abroad for reproduction with the help of a surrogate mother, is a heavily debated phenomenon. One of the most salient discourses on surrogacy is the one affirming that Westerners, in their quest for having a child, exploit poor women in countries such as India. As surrogacy within the Swedish health care system is not permitted, Swedish commissioning parents have used transnational surrogacy, and the majority has turned to India. This interview study aimed to explore how commissioning parents negotiate the present discourses on surrogacy. Findings from the study suggest that the commissioning parents' views on using surrogacy are influenced by competing discourses on surrogacy represented by media and surrogacy agencies. The use of this reproductive method resulted, then, in some ambiguity. Although commissioning parents defy the exploitation discourse by referring to what they have learnt about the surrogate mother's life situation and by pointing at the significant benefits for her, they still had a request for regulation of surrogacy in Sweden, to better protect all parties involved. This study, then, gives a complex view on surrogacy, where the commissioning parents simultaneously argue against the exploitation discourse but at the same time are uncertain if the surrogate mothers are well protected in the surrogacy arrangements. Their responses to the situation endorse the need for regulation both in Sweden and India.

There are few studies on how social workers deal with cases regarding transnational surrogacy. Our study intends to contribute to filling this gap. In Sweden, surrogacy as an assisted reproductive technology method is not permitted. As a result, many prospective parents have turned abroad, mainly to India, for surrogacy. There are no laws regulating surrogacy in Sweden, and difficulties have arisen in establishing legal parenthood when the parents return with the child. This qualitative interview study with social workers found that legal uncertainty and ethical issues surrounded their handling. With no guidelines, the constructions of parenthood will continue to depend on individual social workers' conflicting views on how to best meet the surrogate mother’s interest and the best interest of the child. Regulationis thus needed to better protect those involved and minimize the contingent aspects of legal handling by individual officials.

Det finns få studier om hur socialarbetare handlägger ärenden som berör transnationellt surrogatmoderskap. Vår studie har för avsikt att bidra till att fylla detta tomrum. I Sverige är det inte tillåtet för sjukvården att utföra assisterad befruktning vid surrogatmoderskap. Detta har gjort att människor vänt sig utomlands för denna reproduktionsmetod, främst till Indien. Det finns inga lagar som reglerar surrogatmoderskap i Sverige, vilket har lett till svårigheter vid fastställande av rättsligt föräldraskap när föräldrarna återvänt med barnet. Denna kvalitativa intervjustudie med familjerättssekreterare har funnit att det finns rättslig osäkerhet och etiska frågeställningar som påverkar deras hantering av ärendet. Hur föräldraskap konstrueras i nuläget beror till stor del på enskilda familjerättssekreterares uppfattning om hur man bäst väger surrogatmammans intressen mot vad som är bäst för barnet. Avsaknad av riktlinjer och de etiska frågeställningarna har lett till osäker och olika hantering av ärendena, och en reglering behövs för att bättre skydda de inblandade och öka rättsäkerheten i handläggningen.

BACKGROUND: Surrogacy is a reproductive practice that has been strongly marketed in India as a solution for childless couples. As a result, the number of surrogacy clinics is increasing. Meanwhile, a global discourse on surrogacy, originating from a Western perspective, has characterized surrogacy as being exploitative of women in low-income settings, where poverty drives them to become surrogate mothers.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored perspectives on surrogacy from men and women in Assam, an Indian state known to be a low-income setting. Surrogacy arrangements in Assam are still uncommon. It can be expected that the dominant global discourses on surrogacy will be unfamiliar to the general population, and the objective was also to position the results within the divergent global discourses of surrogacy.

METHODS:  In order to explore local views on surrogacy, we conducted individual interviews and focus group discussions with people from various socioeconomic groups in Assam.

RESULTS: Our findings reveal that people in Assam perceive surrogacy as a good option for a childless couple, as it would result in a child who is a 'blood' relation - something highly desirable for sociocultural reasons. However, the part played by the surrogate mother complicates local views on surrogacy. Most people consider payment to the surrogate mother contrary to societal norms. A surrogate mother is also often judged in a moral light, either as a 'bad mother' for selling her child, or as a 'noble woman' who has helped a childless couple and deserves payment for her services.

CONCLUSIONS: In order to decrease the stigmatization of women, a regulatory policy is needed that will take into account the complex understandings of surrogacy and perceptions of surrogate mothers in Indian society. In policy, the possible effect of the dominant exploitation discourse needs to be modulated by local understandings of this reproduction method.

This study sought to explore how Swedish parents who had commissioned surrogacy abroad experienced the process ofparenthood recognition. The study consisted of in-depth interviews with five couples and 10 individuals representing 10 additionalcouples who had used surrogacy abroad, mainly in India. The construction of motherhood and fatherhood in the Swedish systemcontradicts how parenthood is defined in the surrogacy process. This study found that the formal recognition of parenthood involved acomplex and frustrating process where the presumption of fatherhood and step-child adoption as grounds for parenthood makepeople feel questioned as parents, negatively affecting parental welfare. Policy makers need to take into account the consequencesof an unregulated situation regarding surrogacy, and focus more on the child–parent relationship when regulating surrogacy.