The Ethical Economy of Transnational Surrogacy: Exploring Perspectives from Bogotá’s Surrogacy Market

In recent years, Colombia has become one of the most frequented destinations in the world for transnational surrogacy, or the global market that has emerged as assisted reproductive technologies allow nonprocreative people to have their own biological children by hiring a gestational carrier. Through their online marketing and global collaborations, Colombia’s surrogacy agencies represent surrogacy as an affordable and high-quality option for foreign intended parents. But what is unfolding on the ground in Colombia? My summary exploratory research maps the players, practices, and perceptions constructing Colombian surrogacy. Through introductory conversations with surrogacy stakeholders in Bogotá, I learned more about their own considerations and moral imperatives. Ultimately, the expansion of surrogacy has introduced discourses of economic opportunities and ethical safeguards, which has helped those involved grapple with rapidly growing demands. This research was supported by the Global Futures Grant and the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Equity Small Grant at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Biography: I am a second year PhD student in Sociocultural Anthropology and a prospective Certificate holder in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Broadly, I’m interested in how people with a uterus navigate reproductive technologies to shape their well-being, social positions, and overall lives. My doctoral research explores the burgeoning transnational surrogacy network in Colombia. I’m also passionate about public applications of anthropology, and am a member of WashU's Public Scholarship Program and Graduate Policy Scholar Program.