First Haredi Woman To Become Surrogate Mother

Fear of being labeled "promiscuous" avoided by receiving rabbinic endorsement.

Haredi widow to become surrogate mother
Woman secures letter from rabbi stating she's not 'promiscuous' before getting pregnant with child of barren ultra-Orthodox couple
Nissan Shtrauchler, Ynet

For the first time in Israel, an ultra-Orthodox woman will serve as a surrogate mother, after receiving authorization to do so from a rabbi.
 
The woman, a widowed mother from southern Israel, started making inquiries about the possibility of becoming a surrogate mother several years ago, seeking to help a childless couple bring a baby into the world.
 
But the woman was concerned of her neighbors' reactions should she become pregnant, and asked the Institute of Fertility and Medicine According to Halacha to arrange a halachic approval from a rabbi explaining her condition and guaranteeing she was not "promiscuous."
 
Rabbi Menachem Borshtein, head of the institute, said that such an approval was given by Rabbi Zalman Nehamia Goldberg, and this gave the woman the green light to continue with the procedure.
 
"She received the authorization of the Health Ministry's special committee, and after we found a suitable couple, the procedure is scheduled to start soon," said Borshtein.
 
'Purity in the womb of a Jewish mother'  
The couple in question has been trying to get pregnant for 12 years. Since they are ultra-Orthodox themselves, they were thrilled to learn that the surrogate mother is haredi as well.
 
"We are delighted that in the next nine months the baby will grow into an atmosphere of sanctity and purity in the womb of a Jewish mother. We are very excited and hope that, God willing, this will be the solution for the years of suffering we have endured," they said.
 
While the woman said she was motivated by the desire to help others, money certainly played part in her decision. The price tag of a "surrogacy package" stands at $50,000, with half the sum going directly to the surrogate mother.
 
"Currently 95% of the egg donations received come from abroad," said Prof. Arye Hurwitz, head of the IVF Unit at Hadassah Har Hatzofim Medical Center. "Passing a law that will expand the circle of donors and donations could make the treatment accessible for those who cannot currently afford it or for those who want the egg to come from a Jewish mother," he added.

Comments

[Yochanan Lavie]

She can always be declared a pilegesh (/humor).

[Hometown Postville]

Surrogacy seems pretty contemporary for this group. Can't help wondering how much more there is to this behind the scenes.

[wonderin]

Wait, is this surragocy or does the egg belong to the surogate as well?

[mb]

On fertility/reproduction issues, Cheredim have been on the cutting edge. Another reason wht Israeli doctors are the best at this.

[MalachHamovies]

Check this out !

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1088346.html

[Shmarya]

It's the Forward article from last week.

[Dr. Dave]

Do the donor eggs need a hasgacha?

[itchiemayer]

I'm just sayin' - notice how much slower business is here without Arch...I'm just sayin'...looks like WSC has checked out also. Just sayin'...

[Shmarya]

It's the Memorial Day Weekend. It's always slow now.

[radical feminist]

The eggs are from another woman. Yes they are collecting the eggs from Jewish women in the States, (usually broke Jewish college students). Morally there are problems. The child might become an adult and want to know their biological mother and or father and resent the fact that they were denied access their own ancestry and personal back ground information. The ethical issue is, do we have a right to deny someone access to information about their own history and where they came from. do we have a moral responsibility to the child if we are the egg donor?

[Dr. Dave]

Didn't anyone here watch the late and lamented "Boston Legal"?

What about the small but real possibility that someone marries his/her half sibling due to the small dating pool.

[Radical feminist]

Another ethical problem is that there is a real increased risk of genetic birth defects in invivo. The natural selection process has been eliminated in the lab. If the child has severe birth defects who is responsible for the child's medical care? Doner, adopted parent or surrogate? There are a couple of cases in Great Britian challenging this issue right now.

[yidandahalf]

Been wondering what happened to Reb Ariel. Now I know.

[A. Nuran]

Dr. Dave,

There's an old old joke which R.L. Burnside tells masterfully in the Blues album "Burnside on Burnside". I won't go through the whole thing. But I will tromp on the punchline for those Philistines who won't spring for the album it ends...

"Son, didn't you like neither of them girls good enough to marry them?"

"I liked them fine, Mama, but Daddy said I couldn't marry neither of them 'cause he was their Daddy, but you didn't know it."

"Well! I'll tell you what, Son. You can marry either one of them girls you like. 'Cause he ain't your Daddy, but he don't know it."

It comes out in the wash when you consider the very real possibility that a person's father is not the man married to his or her mother.

Early results using crude blood typing in the 1950s showed that about 10% of babies born in wedlock could not have been sired by their mothers' husbands. Later more precise genetic work has borne this out. It seems to be true across ethnic, national and religious boundaries and probably represents a basic part of the human condition.

If people are really concerned they can get genetic testing before marriage and have the geneticist give a posek on the chances that they're too closely related.

[Radical feminist]

AL
The DNA studies on Jewish Genealogy can be found on familytreeDNA.com
They show that the female line of Ashkenazi's is 93% European and Asian.

[Yosef Sukenik]

Regarding who is the mother, there are different opinions among the rabbinic decisors.
Authorities holding that the delivering mother is the Halachic mother include: Rabbi Shaul Yisreali zt"l, Rabbi Eliezer Waldinberg zt"l, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, Rabbi Zalman Nehemya Goldberg and others.
Authorities holding the genetic mother as the Halachic mother include: Rabbi Shlomo Goren zt"l, Rabbi Ovadya Yosef, Rabbi Yakov Ariel, rabbi Avigdor Navanzal, Rabbi Mendel Shafran and others.

Regarding the need for supervision, as is the case with all fertility treatments with genetic material (sperm, ova, embryos) outside of the body, it is required.

Talk to your LOR in any specific case.

-Yosef Sukenik
Public Relations
Puah Institute, The Leading Jewish Fertility Organization.
http://www.puahonline.org

[Dr. dave]

The best thing about being a test tube baby is having a womb with a view.

[surrogate motherhood]

There's nothing wrong become a surrogate mother. People were act overreact. It isn't crime cause at the end, the child will fulfill of love from their parents and not become a children trafficking.