'Womb for hire': growing surrogacy in US

by Erica Berenstein ©2009 Google
PHILIPSBURG, Pennsylvania — Sitting on her porch, 26-year-old Brandy Hummel gently rubbed her belly to sooth the babies inside. But the growing twins kicking up a storm are not hers.
They were implanted in her uterus as fertilized embryos about six months ago, after she agreed to be the surrogate mother, or gestational carrier, for a couple who lives about 400 kilometers (250 miles) away in New York City.
The contract, as well as an intensive screening process, was negotiated by lawyer Melissa Brisman, based in New Jersey.
Paying a woman to effectively "rent" her reproductive organs is prohibited in several US states, including New York. But laws in other places such as Pennsylvania, where first-time carrier Hummel lives, are more surrogate-friendly.
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