Public forum on surrogate pregancy scheduled Tuesday at 6 p.m.

A public forum at Queen of All Saints Family Life Center Tuesday, March 11, to discuss Louisiana HB 187, also known as the surrogacy bill, has been moved from 6:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The bill was passed by the Louisiana Legislature during last year’s session. Governor Bobby Jindal vetoed it, but opponents of the bill say supporters plan to “fast track” it through the Legislature during the current session that started March 7.
The issue involves legalizing the arrangement of couples who are unable to conceive to hire a surrogate mother and pay her tens of thousands of dollars to bring the implanted embryo to full term.
The practice involves the couple’s in-vetro fertilization of an embryo that is implanted into the surrogate mother. The baby is then born genetically related to the infertile couple and not to the surrogate mother.
Right-to-life advocates who are arguing for the Legislature to vote down the bill say it would lead the exploitation and possible harm to the surrogate mother, who must be treated with powerful hormones in preparation for the procedure.
Opponents of the legislation also say passing the legislation would lead to a “baby broker industry,” with a “web of regulations” for “commercial surrogate pregnancy” or “wombs for rent.”