Acceptance and attitude of Lebanese lawyers and medical students toward surrogate pregnancy: a cross-sectional study

Rashad Nawfal, Jad Kassem, Lea Nicole Sayegh, Antony Haddad, Marly Azzi, Pascale Salameh, Lubna Tarabey, Fadi Abou-Mrad

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the acceptance of specific populations of decision makers in Lebanon regarding surrogacy. This study aimed to explore the acceptance and attitude of Lebanese Lawyers and Medical Students regarding surrogacy. Methods: In total 248 medical students and 204 lawyers completed a questionnaire to assess socio-demographic data, attitude toward surrogacy, and three different clinical scenarios to assess patterns of thinking. Finally, we validated a scale to assess the acceptance of surrogacy in these two populations. Results: Concerning medical students, 54.8% reported they were supportive of surrogacy, 35.1% were neutral and 10.1% were against. For lawyers, 52.9% were supportive, 25% were neutral and 22.1% were against. Lawyers were more likely to be against surrogacy (p = 0.001). After conducting a multivariate analysis on the whole studied population to find predictors of acceptance of surrogacy, the best predictors were being single (OR 0.415; 95% CI 0.228, 0.753; p < 0.01), a supportive reported attitude regarding surrogacy (OR 5.464; 95% CI 3.65, 8.13; p < 0.001) and believing that surrogacy is a solution worth discussing in Lebanon (OR 4.186; 95% CI 1.709, 10.256; p < 0.01). Concerning the clinical scenarios, they showed that lawyers were more likely to oppose abortion regardless of the reason (p < 0.01). Also, in a case of gestational surrogacy, lawyers were more likely to give the right to the gestational carrier to keep the baby compared to medical students (p < 0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, this study shows that only a minority of medical students and lawyers in Lebanon oppose surrogate pregnancy which warrants exploration of the perspective of other populations of decision makers in Lebanon to better guide legislations.

Original languageEnglish
Article number94
JournalReproductive Health
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Ethics
  • Law
  • Lawyers
  • Medical Students
  • Pregnancy
  • Surrogacy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Acceptance and attitude of Lebanese lawyers and medical students toward surrogate pregnancy: a cross-sectional study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this