Howard’s surrogacy agent says military wives are becoming popular as surrogates because, “they don’t cry, they don’t complain at the drop of a hat. […] They handle everything when their husbands are gone.” But there’s another, more practical reason — these women have military health insurance, which includes excellent prenatal care. Paid surrogates are supposed to pay for their own care, but most don’t disclose that they’re carrying a baby for someone else, and the military can’t ask. Some disapprove, but Howard says, “”If our husbands are putting their necks on the line in Iraq or wherever they happen to be at that point in time, we should be able to do what we want with our insurance.” However you feel about the practice, it’s hard not to be touched by the story of Howard, her supportive but faraway husband Brian, and Esteban and Jean Michel, a gay French couple who hope to become parents. “They may not be carrying the child,” Howard says, “but they’re going through all the emotions with me.”
Carrying Someone Else’s Dream [LA Times]
