America, not India, is the world’s surrogacy Mecca, says a cover story in Newsweek. No one knows how many surrogate births took place in the US last year, but “industry experts” estimate that there must be at least 1,000. Couples come from all over the world -- Iceland, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Australia, Spain and Dubai, for starters. In many countries, surrogacy is banned, including much of Europe. Even in the US surrogacy contracts are not enforceable in many states. But in more than a dozen, it is legal and regulated, including Pennslyvania, Massachusetts and California.

Newsweek found that many American surrogates are military wives. Their husbands are overseas on duty; they have excellent medical coverage; and they need the money. They are targeted by surrogacy agencies with leaflet drops around military bases and advertisements in base publications. "Military wives can't sink their teeth into a career because they have to move around so much," says one broker. "But they still want to contribute, do something positive. And being a carrier only takes a year—that gives them enough time between postings." The women can earn more with one pregnancy than their husband’s base pay for a year. ~ Newsweek, Apr 7