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BEFORE
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AFTER
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As told by Barney G.
6
11A1 hen I heard you could get a
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So if you would like a desirable figure.
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GET IN THE GAME.
THE DAILY 4 GAME.
Obstacles
Continued from Page 7
can marry a woman who con-
ceived while still being a vir-
gin, i.e. she became pregnant
through artificial means.
The questions raised are
many:
In the event of a married
surrogate mother is the child a
mamzer? Although the major-
ity opinion would say that the
mingling of a stranger's seed
with the married woman does
not constitute adultery, the
question of mamzerut still
exists. The question of the
child's status as a bastard, with
all its social implications, may
still apply.
There is the problem of the
possibility the child might
marry his or her relative. The
natural father is the man who
gave his seed, and the surro-
gate mother is the mother in
Jewish law. No matter to
which home the child would
remain, the possibility exists
that he or she might marry his
other sibling, since the identity
of the other family would be
unknown.
This problem would exist
even if the mother is married.
Who would be responsible
for child care? The surrogate
mother's husband does not
have to support this child. The
natural father could be re-
quired by Jewish law to sup-
port the daughter even if he is
not the custodial parent, but
for a son after the age of six,
when according to the
, Halachah he should ideally
have custody, the father could
say he is withholding support
because the child is not in his
home.
Besides these questions and
the prohibitions to sire chil-
dren that could possibly marry
siblings, there are other
halachic grounds. The
Halachah provides that a man
can only marry one woman at a
time. This is primarily for the
mitzvah of procreation.
Marriage must be done by
sanctification. The method of
marriage must also be in line
with accepted social and
Jewish procedure. To meet a
woman in the street without
proper introduction and eng-
age her to marry is severely
dealt with because it borders
on prostitution. It would be a
fortiori (Ral Vachomer) that
solicitation of a non-married
partner for reproduction with-
out sanctification, would cer-
tainly border on prostitution.
It would certainly blur the bar-
rier against sexual solicitation
for reproductive reasons. For if
the motive was for infertility,
why couldn't the woman pro-
vide a sexual service as well,
since the motive is "pure?"
The conception of a child has
profound spiritual and
psychological effects on the
. child's future behavior. When
the motive for motherhood is
profit, what intent of love and
sanctity exist in the formation
of this child?
In the event the mother is
not Jewish, although no ques-
tion of mamzerut would then
exist, nonetheless, it is forbid-
den for a Jewish male to sire a
non-Jewish child.
There is also the question of
emitting seed in vain. Many
halachic authorities permit in
vitro fertilization of one's
spouse and even consider it
commendable, in cases of infer-
tility. However, this is only
permitted when the recipient
is the wife. When the recipient
is not his wife, all authorities
forbid it.
There are psychological
problems as well. The spouse
raising the child may forever
be reminded of her inability to
perform and may resent the
child. The natural mother, as
in the case of Baby M, would
feel profound guilt and an-
-1
Is the child a
mamzer? Could it
marry a sibling?
guish in giving up the baby. No
legislation or iron-clad con-
tract could remove a mother's
regret of giving up her child.
The procedure is, emotionally,
a time-bomb ready to explode.
There are many people who
would conceivably pay large
amounts of money for this serv-
ice. This could become an area
where organized crime would
exploit defenseless women.
The story of the Oriental
woman who had to exchange
years of service for entry into
this country is well known.
Child selling in its ugliest form
could very well become an un-
derground industry.
Regulation procedures
would not serve as a deterrent
if there were not large num;
bers of women available or if
the cost were high enough to
warrant the risks.
In the case of Baby M, the
contract according to Jewish
law would be invalid, for the
woman cannot sell her body,
nor can she sell a child not yet
born, for it is a "Davar Shelo Ba
Le Olam," something that is
not here, which cannot be sold.
According to Rabbi Bleich,
use of a donor ovum in the
spouse's womb may be permis-
sible, since according to many,
the mother is the one in whom
the child is grown and experi-
ences the opening of the womb.
This is consistent with the con-
cept that the effect of birth
validates that which at concep-
tion was not complete. Thus,
while impregnating one's wife
artificially may be a virtue,
surrogate motherhood, is out.
Chaim Bergstein is rabbi of
Bais Chabad of Farmington
Hills and a member of the
Council of Orthodox Rabbis of
Greater Detroit.
4
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