12/29/2025
This week, The Wall Street Journal published an important and difficult piece on the realities of surrogacy in the U.S., highlighting how, in an industry that has grown into a multibillion-dollar business, surrogates can still be left with devastating financial and legal consequences when protections fail.
The article underscores what many surrogates and professionals have been saying for years: without clear regulation, ethical oversight, and enforceable standards, the risks fall disproportionately on the women carrying these pregnancies.
Surrogate Steps’ founder, attorney Yifat Shaltiel, was quoted in the piece noting how dramatically the cost of surrogacy has risen over the past decade, reflecting the industry’s rapid growth and increasing complexity. Growth without accountability, however, is not progress.
Surrogacy can be a beautiful, life-changing journey when done responsibly. That means:
• transparent, enforceable contracts
• fully funded and actively monitored escrow accounts
• independent legal representation for surrogates
• rigorous screening of intended parents and agencies
• agency accountability through licensure and regulatory oversight
• clear standards that put human beings before profit
Our hearts are with the surrogates who have been harmed by unethical practices. Their stories matter, and they deserve to be heard.
This article is a reminder of why advocacy, education, and ethical standards are not optional in surrogacy. They are essential.
📖 Surrogacy Is a Multibillion-Dollar Business—but Surrogates Can Be Left With Big Debts – The Wall Street Journal
