Abiade Olawanle Abiola is a human rights activist, lawyer and advocate on women’s human rights, so it is not out of place if she writes a book that brings succour to women, especially. Thus the book: “Surrogacy Practice: An Alternative Path to Motherhood (2024, Princeton and Associate),” is Abiade’s gift to her generation and ones to come. Abiade opens the book with a sigh of relief.
This relief is borne out of the good news that people who used to be hopeless about their failure to have children can now do so.
For her, those moments of oppression and abuse for hitherto childless people are now over. This is because Assisted Reproductive Technologies and surrogacy have come to give succour and opportunities for this category of people. And this is the thrust of the book, Surrogacy Practice: An Alternative Path to Motherhood. And the author seeks to stand on a tripod to engage the theme of her work. It is an academic venture. It is experiential. And it is a literary exposition of the nitty-gritty of surrogacy.
In the first chapter of the book, the author, a law teacher, stands on existing international legal instruments to espouse her thesis on surrogacy. She makes references to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention and the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. This 1994 Conference particularly gave impetus to an acknowledgement of the fundamental entitlement of couples and individuals “to autonomously and responsibly determine the quantity, spacing, and timing of their children.” The rights also guarantee access to “information and means to make such decisions, as well as the right to achieve the highest level of sexual and reproductive health.” (p4)
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These international instruments are therefore precursors to the practice of surrogacy (p5), a “procedure in which a woman of childbearing age, acting as a third party, carries a pregnancy for a commissioning parent.” According to the author, the primary intent is for the surrogate to relinquish the baby after birth, within the scope of certain agreement between the parties. The whole essence of surrogacy, as highlighted by Ms Abiade therefore, is that it has come to provide succour to individuals or couples who face infertility, lack of sexual partner, and those dealing with medical conditions which prevent them from carrying a pregnancy (Pp6-7). The author also dedicates some time to discussing six reasons that make people seek surrogacy as their path to parenthood. These include (Pp12-14) infertility, medical conditions, single parenthood, and recurrent pregnancy loss, among others.
In the book, the author indicates that surrogacy has its roots dating back to ancient times. She traces the history to biblical times (Pp11-12) to historically validate surrogacy. She also gives us a peep into attitudes of religion to surrogacy, especially Christianity and Islam.
In the second chapter of the book, the author discusses the traditional family structure in Nigeria. But she asserts that with urbanisation, education and influence of global perspectives, assisted reproductive technologies, and especially, surrogacy have come to redefine parenthood. So the stigma and other challenges about infertility are now being unlocked with the practice of surrogacy, even though it is still not popular in Nigeria, (p39) and it faces huge socio-cultural, legal and spiritual challenges. But despite these, the author avers that “there is an increasing acceptance of alternative family structures, including stepfamilies, single parenthood, and adoption; and now, surrogacy.” (p39).
Chapter three of the book is devoted to discussing surrogacy in Nigeria, and the author takes time to engage the different strands of this “promising solution for addressing infertility or childlessness in mature singles and married couples”. (p49) She the follows up with explanation of types of surrogacy arrangements, (Pp52-66) including traditional, gestational, commercial, altruistic and international surrogacy arrangements, and she takes a look at the complex and evolving terrain of legal frameworks and regulations on the practice. In this chapter, the author discusses the lack of specific laws on surrogacy, the role of medical practitioners and fertility clinics.
In the fourth chapter, the author discusses parental rights in surrogacy and legal considerations, while the next chapter focuses on the impact of surrogacy on traditional family structures. And in the sixth chapter, we are allowed to learn about the ethical and moral challenges in surrogacy practice. She also emphatically debunks the claim that surrogacy is akin to the illegal operation of a baby factory. So she insists (Pp149-152) that surrogacy does not subscribe to the exploitation of vulnerable women and young girls who are “coerced into becoming pregnant, and their babies are then sold for adoption or other purposes.” Unlike in surrogacy practice, baby factories subject vulnerable young girls and women to very harmful conditions that affect their health and well-being.
The rest of the book – chapters seven, eight and nine – provides a panoramic exposition of case studies, eligibility criteria for intending parents and surrogates, and the author’s recommendations.
The book presents Abiade’s unpretentious stance and advocacy for more understanding of surrogacy in Nigeria. At every juncture in this 335-page work, she calls for more intentional and concerted efforts in fostering more potent legal and regulatory frameworks to assist the germination of diverse and inclusive ecosystems for the practice. She has challenged socio-cultural and religious stakeholders to question their long-held perceptions in favour of more open-minded, modern and globally focused conversations in order to give succour to fertility-challenged individuals and couples especially in Nigeria.
. Olatunbosun is a broadcast journalist, fact-checker and book reviewer at Splash FM 105.5, Ibadan. He can be reached via molatunbosun@splashfm1055.com and on X @miketunbosun.