When we first began our program in March 2013, surrogacy
was fairly new and many in the international surrogacy community expressed concerns.
“Surrogacy in Mexico is too new; surrogacy in Mexico is scary; surrogacy in Mexico
is unsettled”. I can't count the number of times I heard "I just don’t
feel comfortable recommending surrogacy in Mexico". I would smile in
response and say "give me some time, I'll change your mind about surrogacy
in Mexico.”
Well, judging by the number of new surrogacy agencies
moving into Mexico in the recent days, I’d say I’ve accomplished my goal. It appears as though minds have been
changed. It appears as though surrogacy
in Mexico has gotten older, safer and more settled. Now, it seems there are many people that feel
comfortable recommending surrogacy in Mexico.
Minds have been changed about surrogacy in Mexico.
It’s true that surrogacy in Mexico has gotten older –
simply happened with the passage of time.
Surrogacy in Mexico was brought into the spotlight in the beginning of
2013. And the nature of the process is
such that time equals experience and success, in part. It’s been approximately 18 months since the
clock started ticking so yes…surrogacy in Mexico has gotten older.
I suppose it could be said that surrogacy in Mexico has
gotten safer in some ways. It’s safer in
a personal respect – the U.S. state department has removed the travel advisory
previously placed on Mexico City at the beginning of the year. Presently, there are no travel advisories in
place for either Mexico City or Villahermosa and statistically there is more
crime in Chicago than there is in Mexico City.
And since those are the two locations in Mexico where intended parents
will have to spend their time, I suppose you could say yes…surrogacy in Mexico
has gotten safer.
Whether surrogacy in Mexico has gotten more settled, I
suppose depends largely on the basis for the claim it was “unsettled”. If I had to guess, the exit process would be
my number one answer as the reason for claiming it unsettled. When I first encountered this objection in
March 2013, I don’t know if there were many (of if there were any at all)
intended parents from the U.S. that had babies via surrogacy in Mexico and had
already brought them home, having successfully navigated the exit process. We had created a process on paper and we had
the utmost confidence that our process was solid but the fact remained that our
process had not been tested and/or verified by either practical application or
by comparison. And our colleagues were
all in similar situations with an unverified, untested exit processes. Since that time, babies have been born to
U.S. IPs and they have successfully navigated the exit process, returning home
with their babies born via surrogacy in Mexico within our estimated
timeframe. These IPs are not from our
program, but we have had personal interaction with them and we have been able
to verify that our process, the process we presently have on paper is, indeed, comprehensive
and complete and we can use to assist our intended parents in successfully navigating
the exit process and returning home with their baby. If the exit process was the source of
concern, then yes…surrogacy in Mexico has gotten more settled.
Do these three areas of improvement truly explain why
minds have been changed about surrogacy in Mexico? Or have minds been changed about surrogacy in
Mexico for reasons that have nothing to do with these areas of
improvement? Do people now feel
comfortable recommending surrogacy in Mexico based on a true belief it’s a
mature, safe, settled option? Or do they
now feel comfortable recommending surrogacy in Mexico based on necessity? Regardless of how these questions are
answered, whether for good or for bad, one thing is not in dispute…minds have
definitely been changed about surrogacy in Mexico!
