Lamanda(Michelle) Reid/ April 3, 2008/10:47p.m. poverty and inequality
The article Foreign Couples Turn to India for Surrogate Mothers was published March 5, 2008 in the International Herald Tribune by Amelia Gentleman. Surrogacy is a new way for the poor to make money in India. Couples both homosexual and heterosexual are coming to India to find a surrogate mother. Even though homosexuality is illegal in Indian such couples are still allowed to participate in commercial surrogacy. Surrogacy is also known as reproductive outsourcing. India is the ideal place because they have very skilled doctors, liberal laws, and low prices. Reproductive outsourcing is illegal in some European countries, and in the United States it is three times the price as in India. Surrogacy was made legal in India in 2002. Yonatan Gher is a homosexual male is currently in the process of commercial surrogacy. He is very excited about the unborn child, him and his partner want the process to remain completely anonymous. The process currently on average costs about $7,500. One woman was interviewed and asked why she decided to become a surrogate mother, this was her second pregnancy. Her first pregnancy she used the profits to buy a home for her and her son. The second pregnancy was to provide money for his education.
I feel sorry for couples whom are unable to have children, but I feel there is a better way to have a child. I feel that they are exploiting the poor. This article is an example of an inequality due to poverty. Even though the women aren’t forced to be surrogate mothers, they are still prayed on due to their economic status. This is very sad and unethical. The couples in which use these Indian services should be ashamed of themselves.
1 comment:
I feel that this is exploitation of the poor too. I am a 2x surrogate mother in the US. I did receive compensation, but it was not an excessive amount. I could have made more at a minimum wage job for the same amount of time.
In India, these women are being paid what is 15-20 times the average annual salary. I'm sorry, but if you offered someone what basically amounts to winning the lottery in exchange for becoming a surrogate, what choice would you really have? Someone saying to you, "forget what your heart says, don't worry if you'll be depressed over giving back the child, think of all the stuff you could BUY!! A new house, school for your children, a stable future! You owe it to them!!"
Its just not right. I feel for those women who are probably getting in over their heads.
It seems like exploitation to me.
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