Fertility tourism
[5] A person who can become pregnant is considered to have fertility issues if they are unable to have a clinical pregnancy after 12 months of unprotected intercourse.
Areas with lack of resources, such as assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), tend to correlate with the highest rates of infertility.
People are mainly driven towards fertility tourism due to lack of resources and high costs, while other contributing factors include cultural, religious, legal, and safety and efficacy issues.
[10] Other impacts on the need for fertility treatments from other countries include those who are infertile, single, of older age, or identify as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
[6] About 20,000 to 25,000 women (often accompanied by their partners) annually seek cross-border assisted reproductive technology (ART) services.
[12] The trajectory of assisted reproductive technology is outlined through the expansion of IVF, the globalization of donating gametes, and the privatization of service.
[14] In the United States, affiliation between the right and left sides of the political spectrum motivated the protection of human life, even during the in vitro embryonic stages.
[17] In recent years, Mexico has become a destination for cross-border IVF treatment due to its liberal ART and egg donation policies with over 50 clinics throughout the country that utilize assisted reproductive technology.
[18] Mexico does not have legal regulations that restrict or prohibit IVF or egg donations in Mexican clinics, making it a top destination for infertility treatment for people in the United States.
The cost of one IVF cycle in the United States averages US $15,000, while for comparable treatment in Mexico it is about US $7,800, Thailand $6,500, India $3,300, and Iran $2,500.
Many women then will seek treatment in places where the procedure is allowed, such as Spain and the United States where donors can be paid for their donation.
[16] Sex selection is prohibited in many countries, including the United Kingdom,[23] Australia[24] and Canada,[25] India,[26] except when it is used to screen for genetic diseases.
[28] Many countries have no restriction on how many embryos may be transferred into the uterus at the same time, increasing the risk of multiple pregnancy and resultant potential complications.
There is generally a demand for sperm donors who have no genetic problems in their family, 20/20 eyesight, with excellent visual acuity, a college degree, and sometimes a value on a certain height, age, eye colour, hair texture, blood type and ethnicity .
[35][36][37] According to sociology professor Lisa Jean Moore, there is "anecdotal evidence" that sperm from blonde, blue-eyed men is most in demand.
More than 50 countries worldwide are importers of Danish sperm, including Paraguay, Canada, Kenya, and Hong Kong.
[52] There are many differing religious views surrounding surrogacy with regards to lineage and heritability, motherhood, and marital fidelity.
With Judaism, there are concerns regarding legitimacy and most tend to believe that motherhood belongs to the person who actively delivers the child.
[54] Some countries, such as the United States, Canada, Georgia, Ukraine, and Russia are popular foreign surrogacy destinations.
Previously popular destinations, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Mexico have since 2014 banned commercial surrogacy for non-residents or allow it only for heterosexual married couples.
[56] Thailand criminalized surrogacy by foreigners and same-sex couples in 2014, prompted by incidents of surrogate parents behaving badly.
Fertility tourism for surrogacy is driven by legal restrictions in the home country or the incentive of lower prices abroad.
[59] Clinics charged people between $10,000 and $28,000 for the complete package, including fertilization, the surrogate's fee, and delivery of the baby at a hospital.
In 2014, a Moscow court denied registration of the baby born via surrogacy to the single man; the decision was upheld on appeal.
[68] Only married couples can legally go through gestational surrogacy in Ukraine, but they have to be able to prove they cannot carry a baby themselves for medical reasons.
[68] Surrogacy is legally allowed in Belarus from 2006, however, major clients for such kind of services in this country are mainly Russian citizens.
Increasingly, same sex couples who face restrictions using IVF and surrogacy procedures in their home countries travel to US states where it is legal.
[76] While, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and a few U.S. states also permit surrogacy for foreign commissioning parents, Canada does not discriminate on the basis of marital status or sexual orientation.
[76] This contrasts with other countries with lengthier processes that often deter commissioning parents wanting to quickly return home with their new babies.
