According to Ini Edo, a gifted Nollywood actress, she had an intimate and non-transactional relationship with the surrogate who carried her child.
The actress, who gave birth to her child through surrogacy in June 2023, was reported as saying she made the decision because she wanted to have a child even though she was not married and had experienced several miscarriages.
Edo said she had a cooperative and emotional relationship with her surrogate while speaking at the Meet Surrogate Mothers free IVF seminar.
The movie star emphasized that surrogacy should never be viewed as a simple business deal and said she was fully involved on an emotional, medical, and personal level.
“The journey was intimate and not transactional for me,” she remarked. My child’s surrogate wasn’t a random person from an anonymous system. She had her own family, her own ideals, and her own aspirations.
She wasn’t a ship. I participated at every stage. During pregnancy, intended moms usually participate in prenatal care, parental care, medical decisions, and emotional bonding.
“They travel the path together even though they are not physically carrying this child. They sort of undertake the journey together even though they are not physically carrying this child.
Ini Edo also asked society to see surrogacy with compassion and openness and demanded more robust legal protections.
The actress also praised recent legislative initiatives in Nigeria, such as a measure that the House of Representatives is proposing to outlaw commercial surrogacy.
“We need a new narrative that promotes ethical surrogacy based on mutual respect, legal protection, and informed consent,” she continued.
“The world where no family is ever denied hope just because their path to parenthood looks different, and where no woman is exploited.” Surrogacy is not a factory; it requires regulation, openness, and compassion.
It serves as a link between the unthinkable and the miraculous, between hopelessness and happiness, and between strangers who end up becoming family.
Read Also: Buhari Never Demanded Money from NNPCL – Kyari Told Me, Says Adesina
Speaking of regulation, I was pleased to learn that the House of Representatives had recently passed legislation to outlaw commercial surrogacy in Nigeria. In addition, the bill’s provisions called for a two-million dollar fine and a jail sentence for corporations.
Aside from prohibiting commercial surrogacy, the bill also stipulates that arrangements must be entirely altruistic, meaning no money is made other than to cover pregnancy-related and medical costs.
Among other things, there are two clear safeguards against coercion in forced surrogacy agreements. We require clarity and legal protection.
In order to guarantee full legal parentage and prevent legal problems, Nigerian law should acknowledge and defend mothers’ rights through surrogacy. Surrogacy should be respected, not stigmatized.
