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Principles to Guide Decision-Making on Surrogacy

We believe that compassion and thoughtfulness are necessary to respond biblically to people who are considering surrogacy as a solution to infertility, and we understand why some would consider such morally complex measures to satisfy their unfulfilled desires to have a child; however, we would encourage people to consider other responses to their infertility first.

Surrogacy is a complex issue that raises a number of ethical and moral questions, many of which are not directly addressed in Scripture.  For people who are considering surrogacy, we would refer them to the document on this website, How To Make Ethical Decisions In A Complex World, which provides a helpful framework for processing these types of issues.

Recognizing that two people could use that framework and yet arrive at very different conclusions, we suggest the following “matrix” as an additional resource for pastoral counselling and spiritual direction in giving guidance to couples or individuals wishing to pursue surrogacy.