GPA: contratto, mercato e autodeterminazione. Una conversazione con Maria Rosaria Marella

Surrogacy is usually examined as a matter of criminal law. In this conver- sation between Xenia Chiaramonte and Maria Rosaria Marella, however, the aim is to explore gestation for others through the lens of civil and labor law, focusing in particular on three key issues: contract, market, and self-determination. The first civil law aspect to emerge in the debate on surrogacy concerned the validity of the contract—an issue that today appears largely outdated, given the contractual standardization that now characterizes contemporary surrogacy arrangements. This, however, does not apply in prohibitionist countries where surrogacy is not permitted, as in the Italian case. Here, beyond the question of universal criminalization, the best interest of the child comes into play—a principle that should prevail even over a universal ban. Furthermore, the discussion raises the question of whether surrogacy might represent an opportunity for empowerment and self-determination, insofar as it introduces reproductive labor into the market and recognizes its economic value, rather than excluding reproductive work from the market and relegating it to the sphere of unpaid domestic labor.