Carried: How Surrogacy Grows Families

Anita is well aware that bringing a new baby into the world is a lotttttt of work (even though she's never done it herself). But when she heard about friends and family members choosing surrogacy to build their families, she realized how little she knows about that process — and how many misconceptions exist. She talks to a three-time surrogate about why she chose this path. A father who has had a child via surrogacy details how his family navigated the process from a financial, legal and emotional perspective; and a sociologist zooms out to give the big picture of the surrogacy industry.

Meet the guests:

- Eloise Drane, founder of Family Inceptions, talks about her experience as a three-time gestational surrogate. Family Inceptions is one of the only Black-owned surrogacy agencies in the country

- Brian McGunagle, founder of Westport Pride, shares his experience going through the surrogacy process with his husband to have their now-toddler son

- Heather Jacobson, professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Arlington, shares her ethnographic research on gestational surrogacy in the United States

Read the transcript | Review the podcast

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Dive deeper:

- Surrogacy law map state-by-state

- Heather Jacobson’s book “Labor of Love”