Ethics of Surrogacy: A Review of the African Perspective

Surrogacy, typically a legally binding contractual agreement where a surrogate carries and delivers a child for a commissioning party, has emerged as a notable fertility solution in Africa. This practice has financially benefited many surrogate families but has also ignited numerous ethical and societal dilemmas among African scholars due to the lack of comprehensive guidelines and regulations. This chapter examines the ethical implications of surrogacy as presented in published journal articles. A detailed search of six databases using specific search terms yielded ten relevant journal articles. These articles were analyzed and thematically categorized to reflect the ethical and moral principles being challenged. The findings reveal significant ethical challenges, including physical, emotional, and psychosocial consequences, often overshadowed by material and socioeconomic motivations. The chapter concludes that these challenges are largely due to inadequate legal and regulatory frameworks and a decline in societal, religious, moral, and cultural values surrounding fertility. In response, this chapter proposes a tripartite approach—comprising legislation and regulation, cultural and religious integrity, and the promotion of ethical literacy—to address the complex issues associated with surrogacy in Africa.