Uterus Transplantation and Surrogacy in Japan: a Country in which Surrogacy is Prohibited

摘要

Women who undergo hysterectomy due to uterine malignancy, benign disease or postpartum hemorrhage and those with congenital uterine infertility due to a uterine or vaginal defect (Rokitansky syndrome) cannot have a child in Japan because surrogate conception is not permitted. This may be a serious impediment to their marriage, relationship and quality of life. To restore fertility, uterine implantation has been proposed as assisted reproductive technology (ART), as a successor to surrogate conception without the associated ethical problems, and fundamental studies are ongoing. The attitudes toward surrogacy and uterine implantation were investigated by analysis of comments of maternity nurse students, who are likely to play a leading role in maternal management. The results showed that many students answered "I cannot say yes or no" to the question "Would you want to have a child by a surrogate mother or uterine implantation?". Only 1 (7.7%) and 5 (38.5%) of 13 student nurses answered positively to wanting a child by a surrogate mother and by uterine implantation, respectively. In this article, we evaluate the responses of the Japanese maternal nurse students and discuss the current status and restrictions on surrogacy in Japan.