Rabbis Back Ruling Against Surrogate Mothers

Rabbis participating on the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law have supported that panel’s recommendations regarding surrogate motherhood.

The task force, which issued its report in June, did not call for a total ban on surrogacy arrangements, but said that the practice of paying women to serve as surrogate mothers “has the potential to undermine the dignity of women, children and human reproduction.” In cases of disputes, the task force recommended that custody always be awarded to the mother, unless there is “clear and convincing evidence” that awarding custody to the father would be in the child’s best interest.