What is the ethical argument for surrogacy from the side of the intended parents, and what limits it?
Involuntary childlessness causes real suffering, and relieving it by appropriate means is a strong ethical reason; it falls under reproductive autonomy. But that autonomy is limited: parenthood creates lifelong responsibility, and the future child's perspective must also count.
For: often the intended parents are childless for a medical reason and suffer considerably. Relieving that suffering with appropriate means is a strong ethical reason. Whether there is a medical reason or not (e.g. career considerations) may not even matter, because it falls within reproductive autonomy.
Reproductive autonomy is understood as freedom of choice: whether to reproduce, with whom, when and how often. The concept comes from the movement for a right to abortion, where it meant a negative freedom: no one may stop me from living my own idea of a good life.
Against, or at least limiting:
- Self-realisation, freedom of choice and control by the parents cannot be the only decisive factor here.
- The decision creates a relationship of lifelong responsibility and care.
- The future child's perspective must be taken into account as well.
Also: every technological step that widens reproductive autonomy tends to provoke resistance, because it moves from "being left alone" to "being enabled by others".
Go deeper:
Wikipedia: Reproductive rights — the rights framework behind reproductive autonomy.