Third party reproduction refers to a process where another person provides sperm or eggs or where another woman provides her uterus so that a woman can have a child. Thus the reproductive process goes beyond the traditional father-mother model. However, the third party's involvement is limited to the reproductive process and does not extend into the raising of the child. One can separate:
- Sperm donation. A third party provides sperm that can be used for insemination of the future mother.
- Ovum donation. An egg donor provides ova for fertilization in the IVF process. The embryo is placed into the uterus of the future mother (embryo transfer).
- Gestational carrier. A woman carries a baby through the pregnancy for another person.
Thus a child can have a genetic and social (non-genetic, non-biologic) father, and a genetic, gestational , and social (non-biologic) mother, and any combinations thereof.
Surrogacy is a term that is not yet well defined. In a wider sense it includes all situations where a surrogate carries a pregnancy for another person and thus includes the gestational carrier situation. Recently, there has been a tendency to separate the gestational carrier situation from the "true" surrogate restricting the term for a woman who provides a combination of ovum donation and gestational carrier services. In a typical situation a surrogate is inseminated, conceives, and hands over the baby at the completion of the pregnancy. A famous case involving paternity rights and surrogacy is the Baby M case.
Reference
Baby M