Same could be said of any couple wanting to have their own child in an already overpopulated world. Only difference here is that they're renting someone else' body for the process.

Too true on the adoption issue. Lots of kids in China need a loving home. I believe I heard millions.

Dave

My SIL tried to adopt a kid from china, they wouldn't allow her to adopt because her BMI was too high, aparently that made her an unfit parent in China's eyes.

You are right, ANY child born outside the USA, that's Father or Mother is a US Citizen, is a US citizen automatically. My best friend since 5th grade, married a Turkish woman while serving in Turkey in the USAF. Both his daughters were born in Turkey, but when he was transfered back to the USA, only his wife had to apply and become a US citizen, his daughters were born with dual US/Turkish citizenship.

So this surrogate thing may not raise any major problems after all, the "birth mothers" are not US citizens, but the "donor/father" and "donor/mother" are, which technically isn't much different from a father/citizen and mother/non-citizen situation.

Or a cook.

Actually, China is finally getting a handle on their number of abandonned kids. The one family/one child rule doesn't apply to adoptions and as Chinese citizens become more wealthy they've turned to adoption get more children. Because of the huge increase in demand, China has made the rules for adopting very strict, both inside China and by foreigners. China has reached the point where they can be very picky as to who gets to adopt a child. The demand by foreigners has outstripped supply (God, I hate describing it like that) and so the Chinese government will only release children to people they consider "the best of the best" It's not that they consider someone with a high BMI to be an unfit parent, it's just that there are some many people applying that they can be very picky. The Chinese government had to thin the ranks some and so they decided that all adoptive parents must meet certian levels of health and fitness (among other requirements).

Obviously, Chinese adoption is a subject near and dear to my heart and I can lecture on it for hours.

-Blast

A child born to legitimately married US citizen parents, anywhere in the world, IS a U.S. citizen. The child may also hold dual citizenship, depending on the country of birth, but the United States recognizes only that the child is an American citizen.

If the child is born to Indian surrogate parents (mother), regardless of who the biological (sperm donating) father is, the child is NOT (repeat NOT) a U.S. citizen. An American man and woman, for example, could go to India (or any country), conceive a child, transplant the embryo into an Indian woman, and the child would NOT be a U.S. citizen. (THis does not include a child born in India to an Indian mother, legally married to a U.S. citizen father, of course. That child may well be a derivative citizen, in that case, dependant on certain circumstances [residency requirements].)

Is this just your opinion, or can you point to a case where this has already been decided by a court?

Hmm, I dunno, does the irresponsibility of one group of people translate to increased burden for those who have no influence over them? I would think not, otherwise it seems we should abstain from eating until all those in Somalia and Ethiopia are fed.

I see no immorality in wanting to preserve one's lineage if legally possible. The fact that economics plays a role shouldn't necessarily make it immoral either, lots of kids are orphans due to economic circumstances.

I guess it depends on your convictions. From my perspective, it is far more immoral for anyone to bring a child into this world whom the parent(s) cannot adequately care for, which is far, far more pervasive than this.

This lays it out pretty much: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law
but the issue hasn't been decided yet at the court level. The law recognizes the child if one parent is a citizen, but this is a scientific way of having children and is different that what has already be decided/argued at least as far as I know.

Dave