Although military wives can become surrogates, pregnancy for pay isn't OK for members of the armed forces.
As part of a 2007 overhaul of its rules regarding pregnancy and maternity leave, the Navy barred its service members from becoming surrogate mothers. The ban applies to the Marine Corps as well.
The Army and Air Force also have passed similar regulations.
Surrogacy became an issue early in the Iraq war, when some service members couldn't deploy because they were bearing children for others, said Austin Camacho of TRICARE, the military's health care program.
It's unclear how many service members have been surrogates in recent years because the military doesn't collect such data.
Surrogacy brokers interviewed for this story said they have never heard from an active-duty service member offering to become a surrogate.
– Steve Liewer
