![](https://i.imgur.com/CLvY2jA.png")
17-09-2023, 10:46 AM
Julie Bindel
Published On 8 Sep 2023
8 Sep 2023
......
is being able to have a baby via a surrogate – even when the surrogate is fully consenting, properly compensated and cared for – really a human right? Could the surrogacy industry, which is built on the commodification of the female body, ever be truly free of exploitation?
The short answer, based on the testimonies of countless surrogate mothers I interviewed over the years, is no.
In places where for-profit surrogacy is legal, from California and New York to Ukraine and Mexico, disadvantaged women are being turned into wombs for hire with no consideration for their human rights.In these jurisdictions, where surrogacy is seen as a simple business transaction, the surrogate mother is often required to sign an agreement which gives “commissioning parents” pretty much complete control over her life and body throughout the entire pregnancy. These women are left to deal with any pregnancy-related health issues alone after the baby is born, and often find themselves settling for far less money than what was originally agreed, especially when there are complications, or if a miscarriage occurs.
......
In countries where commercial surrogacy is against the law, surrogate mothers who volunteer to carry and birth a baby are still paid “expenses” by “commissioning parents” – up to £15,000 ($18,000) in the UK, for instance. While this sum may appear inconsequential to some, for many women, who are destitute or in desperate need of more financial independence, it can be life-changing. This means there is always a coercive element to surrogacy, even in places where the practice is not officially commercialised and only women who volunteer for the job are allowed to become surrogate mothers.
There is also never much consideration for how a surrogate mother (either financially motivated or volunteer) may feel when the time comes for her to hand over the baby she just birthed.
......
How utterly naive and devoid of compassion.
While many women enter into surrogacy arrangements convincing themselves that they would merely be carriers, they eventually found themselves traumatised and devastated by having to give the baby up.
......
the abusive practice of outsourcing pregnancy to underprivileged and marginalised women is becoming widely accepted, and even mainstream.
......
the overwhelming majority of women who sign up to become a surrogate mother, including those in jurisdictions where commercial surrogacy is illegal, do so because of poverty – the surrogacy industry, in its entirety, is nothing but a reproductive brothel.
......
could growing new life in your womb, birthing that life with great risk to your own wellbeing, and then handing it over to the person who commissioned it ever be considered just another type of “work”?
Is the inside of a woman’s body really an acceptable workplace? Can a few atypical examples, where everyone, including the surrogate mother, gains from the experience, allow us to overlook the grave consequences of the commercialisation of wombs, for society in general and women in particular?
......
for everyone who has the means to pursue surrogacy, including gay couples, adoption is also an option. Nobody has the right to a biological child, regardless of their sexuality or sex. The use of impoverished women’s bodies for the benefit and convenience of those claiming parenthood as “their human right” is anathema to women’s liberation.
Whether it is altruistic or for-profit, surrogacy is exploitation – it turns the female body into a commodity for hire.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/...81852379=1
Published On 8 Sep 2023
8 Sep 2023
......
is being able to have a baby via a surrogate – even when the surrogate is fully consenting, properly compensated and cared for – really a human right? Could the surrogacy industry, which is built on the commodification of the female body, ever be truly free of exploitation?
The short answer, based on the testimonies of countless surrogate mothers I interviewed over the years, is no.
In places where for-profit surrogacy is legal, from California and New York to Ukraine and Mexico, disadvantaged women are being turned into wombs for hire with no consideration for their human rights.In these jurisdictions, where surrogacy is seen as a simple business transaction, the surrogate mother is often required to sign an agreement which gives “commissioning parents” pretty much complete control over her life and body throughout the entire pregnancy. These women are left to deal with any pregnancy-related health issues alone after the baby is born, and often find themselves settling for far less money than what was originally agreed, especially when there are complications, or if a miscarriage occurs.
......
In countries where commercial surrogacy is against the law, surrogate mothers who volunteer to carry and birth a baby are still paid “expenses” by “commissioning parents” – up to £15,000 ($18,000) in the UK, for instance. While this sum may appear inconsequential to some, for many women, who are destitute or in desperate need of more financial independence, it can be life-changing. This means there is always a coercive element to surrogacy, even in places where the practice is not officially commercialised and only women who volunteer for the job are allowed to become surrogate mothers.
There is also never much consideration for how a surrogate mother (either financially motivated or volunteer) may feel when the time comes for her to hand over the baby she just birthed.
......
How utterly naive and devoid of compassion.
While many women enter into surrogacy arrangements convincing themselves that they would merely be carriers, they eventually found themselves traumatised and devastated by having to give the baby up.
......
the abusive practice of outsourcing pregnancy to underprivileged and marginalised women is becoming widely accepted, and even mainstream.
......
the overwhelming majority of women who sign up to become a surrogate mother, including those in jurisdictions where commercial surrogacy is illegal, do so because of poverty – the surrogacy industry, in its entirety, is nothing but a reproductive brothel.
......
could growing new life in your womb, birthing that life with great risk to your own wellbeing, and then handing it over to the person who commissioned it ever be considered just another type of “work”?
Is the inside of a woman’s body really an acceptable workplace? Can a few atypical examples, where everyone, including the surrogate mother, gains from the experience, allow us to overlook the grave consequences of the commercialisation of wombs, for society in general and women in particular?
......
for everyone who has the means to pursue surrogacy, including gay couples, adoption is also an option. Nobody has the right to a biological child, regardless of their sexuality or sex. The use of impoverished women’s bodies for the benefit and convenience of those claiming parenthood as “their human right” is anathema to women’s liberation.
Whether it is altruistic or for-profit, surrogacy is exploitation – it turns the female body into a commodity for hire.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/...81852379=1
