The history of surrogacy is composed of cases of happy solving family problems, but also of conflicts and lawsuits concerning a child and his welfare. In modern times it became the next to adoptions additional possibility of ensuring infertile individuals fulfillment of their dreams of posterity. It can also be used for comfort of a woman - to avoid the burdens of pregnancy and delivery, or for a comfort of a man – to be a single father without a mother of a child, wife and family ties with her. Since its beginning in late 70-ties of XX century, legality and ethical aspects of surrogacy are lively discussed, as well in the court rooms, as in the doctrine. The following article is an attempt to deal with just some of the mentioned ethical problems.
En contra de lo que se pueda creer, y a pesar de las nuevas técnicas de reproducción humana, la gestación por sustitución no es una práctica exclusiva del siglo XXI y ya el Derecho Romano nos suministra una serie de fuentes sobre el uso de esa práctica entre la aristocracia romana. En este trabajo se traen a colación algunos de esos ejemplos, mostrando además cual era la razón de que se realizara esta práctica, en una sociedad patriarcal, que utilizaba a la mujer con fines reproductivos en interés no sólo de la familia, sino de la propia sociedad. Esto hace que nos preguntemos si, hoy dia, el uso de esta práctica también responde a unos intereses sociales, en los que la mujer, es objeto de mercantilización.
EN
Contrary to what can be believed, and despite the new techniques of human reproduction, gestational surrogacy is not an exclusive practice of the 21st century and Roman law already provides us with a series of sources on the use of this practice among the Roman aristocracy. In this work some of these examples are brought up, showing the reason why this practice was carried out in a patriarchal society, which used women for reproductive purposes in the interest not only of the family but also of society itself. This makes us wonder if, nowadays, the use of this practice also responds to social interests, in which women are the object of commodification, perhaps more characteristic of a patriarchal society.
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