Wherever you turn at the moment, whether it is Twitter, Facebook, message boards or comment sections on blogs, there is breathless handwringing over the fact that many states in America allow surrogates to be compensated. This is often followed by an invidious and agenda-driven diatribe attacking the surrogate and any prospective parent who would even consider “purchasing” a baby. The more austere commenter solemnly praises the UK model of proscribing “commercialized” surrogacy but permitting the parties to continue on an altruistic basis.

This might surprise some, but compassionate surrogates in the United Kingdom typically receive as much compensation as their “commercial” American counterparts. In the UK, a typical surrogate arrangement will allow the surrogate to receive between £10,000 – £15,000. A surrogate in the United States would normally receive between $20,000 – $30,000 (which is oftentimes inclusive of some of her costs and expenses) depending upon how many times she has been a carrier. So with a .6483 conversion rate from dollars to pounds, you can see that the compensation is almost identical.

To put both systems in perspective, if you only consider the time the surrogate is pregnant and exclude all the screenings, weeks on medication and multiple medical procedures and doctor visits necessary to achieve a pregnancy, the surrogate receives less than $3.00 per hour for the sacrifice she is making. A surrogate in the United States can earn more money receiving unemployment benefits with far less work and risk than “working” as a carrier. This says nothing of the fact that as part of the vetting process, any woman who is seeking to be a surrogate solely for the financial gain will be automatically disqualified.

So for the more sanctimonious types who continue to deride the American system, you might need to find an alternate argument to fit your anti-surrogacy agenda.