7 Beyond Altruism: A Case for Compensated ... 179from saying that they would be ‘doing it for the money’. For example,
Pamela Laufer-Ukeles ( 2013 ) found that while surrogate mothers might
not agree to undertake pregnancy’s considerable inconvenience and
expense without payment, the desire to help others is an important con-
sideration.^16
The Rights and Liberties of the Surrogate Mother
Professions have regulatory bodies that oversee selection, training,
and ethical standards. They also protect the interests of their mem-
bers to ensure that they are not exploited or forced into unethical con-
duct. Pressures on professionals to act in ways that are contrary to the
standards of the profession can be overlooked, as can unfair contrac-
tual obligations, when the self-regulating nature of professions is being
evaluated. Individual doctors, nurses, and teachers cannot easily defend
themselves or their profession, but professional bodies can and do. The
professional model requires surrogate mothers to be registered and clin-
ics to be licensed and regulated through an independent body, which
is responsible for setting the fees women receive, as well as the profes-
sional standards, rights, and duties of all parties. Individual surrogate
mothers are vulnerable to exploitation, but a regulated profession would
offer protection by setting standards of conduct, as well as limitations
on what parents or agencies employing women as surrogate mothers can
demand of them.
To guard against the risk of objectification, the professional model
emphasizes the fact that the surrogate mother, as a pregnant woman,
has the right to make free and informed decisions about whether to
undergo invasive diagnostic tests, have an abortion or undergo foe-
tal reduction. She is not a vessel containing a foetus but a person with
the right to bodily integrity. The intended parents must respect her
agency and refrain from coercive actions. They must accept that they
are entrusting the surrogate mother with the fate of the intended baby
(Walker and van Zyl 2015 : 529–535).
In order to secure an environment in which the surrogate mother can
freely exercise her right to bodily integrity, payment should not be tied