Surrogate Pregnancy

Strait Times (23th May 2006) covers a news about a mid-30's Singaporean Chinese Christian couple that 'rented' an Indian woman's womb to bear their child. The couple flew to India last week, when their baby was born, to do a genetic check whether the baby identifies with them genetically.

Indian experts implanted the husband's sperm and the wife's egg into the surrogate mother's uterus and she is paid about SGD 10,000 to carry the baby for a full term. As soon as the child was born, he/she (gender of the baby wasn't enclosed in the report) was separated from the surrogate mum to prevent any bonding.

Prior to this resort, the couple went through 5 in-vitro fertilization but weren't successful. Singapore laws forbid the practices of surrogate mum, thus the couple took such measure in India. When interviewed by Strait Times, the couple thanked God for the child.

More can be read here:
http://news.sawf.org/Lifestyle/12867.aspx
http://onlypunjab.com/fullstory2k5-insight-news-status-22-newsID-72845.html
Strait Times issue 23th May 2006.

Can a human's body subject to such function? Any medical ethics involved? Renting another's womb to bear our child is a breakthrough in technology. No such things in biblical days. As technology advanced, there are wonders can be attained; some are positive, some are negative, others 'neutral'. Is this a 'neutral' achievement? How does image of God (imago Dei) fit into such phenomena?

Economically, this would open up a market for such 'transaction'. Human's bodies are being priced. Would surrogate mum being equates as the same as prostitution, where bodies are being used for economical reason? Or should this practice be justified by bringing in the 'be fruitful and multiply' mandate into picture?

What are your opinions?