A CNN article says the number of men turning to surrogates for children is on the increase. Exact numbers are hard to come by but one source cited by CNN says the number of gestational surrogate births quadrupeled between 1996 and 2006.
Surrogacy experts say because the practice is not regulated, many surrogacy arrangements are handled privately by individuals. Precise figures are hard to come by, but experts say there's no doubt the United States is experiencing a surrogacy baby boom.
Celebrities like Ricky Martin and Clay Aiken announced this year they had had babies with the help of surrogates and the the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, representing scores of reproductive clinics, reports that the number of gestational surrogate births in the country quadrupled between 1996 and 2006.
Surrogacy experts say gestational surrogacy has increased steadily since the advent of in vitro fertilization in the early 1980s, because it provides an extra layer of emotional and legal protection for the client. The egg donor usually does not even know the client, and unlike the legally contentious "Baby M" case from the 1980s, the surrogate is not giving birth to her genetic child.
The article lists a couple surrogacy agencies that have had big increases in clients lately. It also says men are willing to spend as much $100,000 to have a baby through surrogacy.
