1. Older mothers lead to IVF being generally accepted. That's effectively self surrogacy and it's a pretty tiny step* to changing where the implanted materials came from.
2. The feminist push for "reproductive rights" came to mean "the moment pregnancy is mentioned, anything goes."
3. Women can profit from it.
4. The medical industry can profit from it and have significant sway.

* Maybe not in moral terms, but medically.

Try from the other side. How would you argue against surrogacy without stepping on feminist ideals? You end up with the same ideological split as sex work. If the profit makes it "empowering" or if the use of her body makes it "exploitation." With that stalemate in place, refer to #4.

1. Older mothers lead to IVF being generally accepted. That's effectively self surrogacy and it's a pretty tiny step* to changing where the implanted materials came from.
2. The feminist push for "reproductive rights" came to mean "the moment pregnancy is mentioned, anything goes."
3. Women can profit from it.
4. The medical industry can profit from it and have significant sway.

* Maybe not in moral terms, but medically.

Try from the other side. How would you argue against surrogacy without stepping on feminist ideals? You end up with the same ideological split as sex work. If the profit makes it "empowering" or if the use of her body makes it "exploitation."

1. Older mothers lead to IVF being generally accepted. That's effectively self surrogacy and it's a pretty tiny step* to changing where the implanted materials came from.
2. The feminist push for "reproductive rights" came to mean "the moment pregnancy is mentioned, anything goes."
3. Women can profit from it.
4. The medical industry can profit from it and have significant sway.

* Maybe not in moral terms, but medically.