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Humans

The Surrogate review: A gripping film about a difficult moral dilemma

By Clare Wilson

7 July 2021

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Aaron, Jess and Josh must navigate the ethics of an unusual surrogacy

Monument Releasing

The Surrogate

Jeremy Herch

UK cinemas

THE Surrogate is billed as being about a moral dilemma, so I assumed that the film would address some of the complex ethical questions surrounding surrogate pregnancies, when someone deliberately conceives in order to give the baby away.

For example, if the surrogate is paid a fee, some feel that the arrangement can seem exploitative, and even when people do it for altruistic reasons, problems can arise if participants change their minds halfway.

The film touches on these questions, but…

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