Surrogate motherhood is expanding all over the world. Debates rage over how public policy should consider the signing away of the parental rights of birth mothers in favor of a 'commissioning' couple or an individual. In this book, Daniela Danna describes the situation in English-speaking countries and worldwide, from California to Greece, presenting the legal alternatives regulating (or not) these peculiar exchanges. Should surrogacy remain a private agreement? Should it be treated as an enforceable contract? Are surrogate mothers workers? What happens inside the countries that have chosen different ways of handling this new and controversial matter? And, the most important question of all: How can we live in this era of new techno-medical possibilities and try to stay human? Can we resist commodification in the field of human relations concerning procreation? Contract Children discusses the different ways available to obtain a child through surrogate motherhood. It is fundamental reading for anyone wanting to be involved in the surrogacy process. It gives prospective surrogate mothers and infertile couples the background information necessary for their own informed decision. It is also an essential instrument for policy makers and activists in the field of women's rights, social justice, and children's rights. The question of how to publicly deal with surrogate motherhood touches upon our social vision of motherhood, ultimately marking the position of women in contemporary society.

"Reading this book is like climbing to the top of a mountain and surveying the landscape beneath. It clearly outlines the difficult and interconnected debates surrounding surrogacy." --Stefania Doglioli, President of the Centro Studi sul Pensiero Femminile and of the Associazione XXD
"Intelligent, compelling and highly readable, Contract Children challenges us to rethink the meanings of motherhood, care, and markets before making judgments about the ethics of surrogacy. This is a powerful and original contribution to debates on surrogate motherhood." -- Julia O'Connell Davidson, Professor of Sociology, University of Nottingham
"Daniela Danna has given us a truly global and rich analysis of what is called 'surrogacy', and what she more accurately calls 'contract children'. She traces the practice of selling 'gestational services' or 'renting wombs' from its creation in the United States in the 1970's to its growth as a global industry, showing us the varied legal and social meanings around the world of turning pregnancy into paid labor - and often very poorly paid labor indeed. What would it mean to value, as she argues we should value, pregnancy and motherhood as the basic social tie, the relationship within which all human life begins?" -- Barbara Katz Rothman, Professor of Sociology at CUNY