PT Health Watch: Lack of clear laws fueling surrogacy exploitation in Nigeria

Across Nigeria, more couples struggling with infertility are turning to surrogacy as an alternative path to parenthood.

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Once viewed as taboo, the practice is gaining quiet acceptance among middle and upper-class families seeking alternatives to adoption or assisted reproduction.

But experts warn that its rapid, unregulated growth is creating new ethical and legal challenges, with poor women increasingly at risk of exploitation in the absence of clear national laws or oversight mechanisms.

Health and gender experts who spoke with PT Health Watch say the country’s legal vacuum and social stigma around surrogacy call for urgent public discussion and policy reform.

What surrogacy involves

From a medical standpoint, surrogacy is a process in which another woman carries a pregnancy for someone unable to do so.

According to Ogunwunmi Oluwole, a consultant gynaecologist, the practice is often considered when a woman has congenital abnormalities of the womb, has had her uterus removed, or when her health cannot support pregnancy.

“It would be like another woman helping a woman who cannot, for different reasons, have a pregnancy on her own – just like a human incubator, so to speak,” Mr Oluwole explained.

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Globally, surrogacy has become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Data from the Global Market Insights projects the surrogacy market to be valued at $27.9 billion and driven largely by infertility, advancements in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), and delayed childbearing.

The United Nations also regards the practice as a form of exploitation and violence against women and children, including girls.

Medical and psychological risks

While surrogates typically undergo IVF to achieve pregnancy, Mr Oluwole noted that they face similar risks as any pregnant woman.

He explained that complications during pregnancy are linked to the body trying to adjust to the paternal aspect of the foetus, adding that these risks apply to surrogate mothers as well.

Multiple embryo transfers, common in IVF, also increase the likelihood of caesarean deliveries. Beyond medical concerns, surrogate mothers may experience psychological stress.

Some, the gynaecologist added, may struggle with detachment because the child is not theirs biologically or socially.

Gender and ethical concerns

From a gender lens, surrogacy is far more controversial. Oluwafunmbi Ogunsola, a gender expert, said surrogacy often exploits women in vulnerable economic situations, noting that it is an exploitative practice, not only in Nigeria but globally.

Ms Ogunsola explained that the process often thrives on class and economic inequality, where wealthier women pay poorer women to carry pregnancies for them.

“The women who are often targeted to be surrogate mothers are women who are poor, economically disadvantaged. That’s the kind of oppression that happens when you use your economic status to get someone to do something,” she said.

Currently, Nigeria has no clear legal framework governing surrogacy and therefore operates in a grey area with no explicit law stating whether it is legal or illegal.

Cultural and social perceptions

Despite its growing use among elite families and celebrities, surrogacy remains a socially sensitive and largely misunderstood topic where traditional beliefs and religious values often shape attitudes toward childbirth and motherhood.

According to the gender expert, cultural expectations of women to conceive and bear their own children reinforce stigma around both infertility and surrogacy.

“For the intending parents, especially women, there is a lot of stigma. It’s only recently that some women have started to speak openly about using surrogate mothers. Society has made it look like, once you struggle with infertility, something is wrong with you,” Ms Ogunsola said.

She explained that the secrecy surrounding surrogacy often stems from fear of being judged or ridiculed.

“Many people hide it. I’ve seen a case where a woman told people her baby died at birth, only for them to later find out she had been a surrogate,” she said.

She argued that Nigeria needs to balance women’s rights, reproductive rights, and child protection by holding buyers, not surrogate mothers, accountable.

“Nigeria should criminalise the purchase of surrogacy services, not the women who carry the pregnancies. Like the Nordic model used in other countries, this protects women from punishment while discouraging exploitation,” she added.

Just recently, the founder of DANG products, Ifedayo Agoro, came under fire when she said she would be exploring the services of a surrogate even though she has no medical challenge and is able to carry a baby.

Her post brought to fore, discussions on the rules and regulations surrounding surrogacy, choices and justification for such choices.

Emerging efforts

In October 2024, Olamijuwonlo Alao-Akala, a member of the House of Representatives, sponsored the Surrogacy Regulatory Commission Bill to regulate surrogacy practices in Nigeria.

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The bill, which has passed second reading, seeks to establish a commission to license, monitor, and supervise surrogacy arrangements nationwide while protecting the rights of surrogate mothers and intending parents.

Similarly, another proposal by Uchenna Okonkwo, titled “A Bill for an Act to Protect the Health and Well-Being of Women, Particularly in Relation to Surrogacy and for Related Matters,” seeks to prohibit commercial surrogacy while allowing altruistic surrogacy under strict regulation.

It also prescribes penalties of up to N2 million in fines or two years’ imprisonment for violations.