Psycho-Legal and Post-Delivery Rights of Surrogates: A Legal Analysis
Abstract
Infertility is a pivotal issue in our society which affects both health and well-being of a person suffering it. The advancements in science and technology have made it possible for the infertile couples to enjoy family life with children with the help of surrogates. Surrogacy, as an arrangement has been widely practiced across the globe. It has landed with several legal, moral, ethical and social issues as it interferes with natural process of reproduction and makes the entire process of procreation a contractual and transactional process. Where current legal models are predominantly concerned with establishing parentage and the rights of intended parents, surrogate’s psycho-legal and post-partum rights remain under theorized, and inadequately protected. It raises intersections between reproductive autonomy, contract law, human rights and psychological wellbeing of surrogates, intending parents and the child involved. The intended parents have dominating role in the legal framework but the post-delivery rights of surrogates need to be addressed. This paper explores psycho-legal dimension of surrogacy focussing on post-delivery rights of surrogates. From a legal standpoint, surrogacy regimes predominantly treats the surrogate’s consent as irrevocable once the child is born, thereby privileging contractual certainty and child stability over the surrogate’s post-delivery autonomy and wellbeing. This approach reflects a narrow contractual paradigm that inadequately accounts for embodied reproductive labour and its psychological consequences. By integrating insights from feminist legal theory, relational autonomy, and international human rights law—particularly the rights to health, dignity, and bodily integrity—this study argues for a re-conceptualisation of surrogates’ rights beyond delivery. A legal analysis on human rights norms, international comparative law, psychological research is being held to reveal systemic gaps in protection of surrogates, and rights of surrogates post-delivery. This paper proposes framework to reconcile autonomy, contractual and parental claims, and psychological wellbeing while advancing concrete legal reforms.