Cross-border reproductive care: Opinions and attitudes of society towards surrogate pregnancy

Abstract

Surrogate pregnancy (SP) has acquired a prominent public profile through the bioethical, legal and media debates this cross-border reproductive practice has raised worldwide. The different social agents involved in the phenomenon frequently appeal to public opinion looking for legitimation and endorsement of their ethical and political positions on the matter. However, opinion polls occupy a marginal place in research about SP. The article presents the findings of the scoping review of 31 scientific articles (1985–2017) analysing public opinion regarding SP in 13 countries. The aim is to single out the main subtopics covered by the studies in order to identify research gaps as well as describe and analyse SP as a socio-cultural construct and ‘social problem’ which is currently situated in a complex multidimensional arena made of conflicting narratives and attitudes that divide international public opinion along each one of the identified subtopics. Additionally, the article presents the results of the survey Opinion and Attitudes of the Spanish Population towards Adoption, Fostering and Gestational Surrogacy (2018), the first conducted in Spain with a representative national sample.