Introduction
“Surrogacy refers to an arrangement whereby a women agrees to become pregnant for the purpose of gestating and giving birth to a child for others to raise or implanted with someone’s else’s fertilized egg and sperm (Pande, 2009, p.143)”. Commercial surrogacy is legalized in India and has become a hotspot for those who cannot conceive their own child. In a recent news article on reproductive surrogacy stated that “fair-skinned, high caste women are paid US$1600 more for their services” compared to a darker skinned Indian women, even though the baby doesn’t share any genetic material of the surrogate (Asian News, 2012). This is very intriguing because the women’s skin color has nothing to do with the pregnancy, yet fair-skinned women get paid more for the same services. This unfairness doesn’t make any sense on moral grounds. Discrimination amongst dark-skinned people has a long history but is barely mentioned in the scientific literature on reproductive surrogacy tourism, thus this gap in the literature is an important issue to address.
In this paper, I will argue why skin color discrimination among Indian surrogate mothers occur, the historical view on discrimination, the ethical dimensions and how to address this issue in order to help protect women from discrimination and inequality.
Background
Historically, women have used others to bear children when they could not conceive but being infertile wasn’t as common as it is today. The surrogate mother would be the genetic mother because technology in the past wasn’t as advanced as our modern day technology. Infertile parents today have so many reproductive procedures to choose from but surrogacy is common when they cannot conceive their own child (Fixmer-Oraiz, 2013...
... middle of paper ...
... to address this issue are critical in order to help protect women from discrimination and injustice.
Given all these points, there needs to be more specific scientific research in this matter because there seems to be a lack of information. This is definitely an issue that needs to be explored more. We need more research on the reasons why prospective parents would pay more for a fair-skinned surrogate when there the surrogate has no genetic relation to the child. This issue doesn’t make sense on moral grounds but is fascinating to explore. The issue of skin color discrimination seems to be a global challenge; therefore it would make sense for multifaceted research to be conducted that engages scholars from different backgrounds to combat this issue. Hopefully, further research will lead surrogacy tourism to a more equal, justice and non-discriminatory industry.
Many Australians are turning to surrogacy as their last resort to have a child today. It is a process that has become more recognised popularly used over the years. Surrogacy is an arrangement for a woman to carry and deliver a child for another couple or individual. When the child is born, the birth mother permanently gives up the child to the intended parents. There are many legal issues surrounding surrogacy. Laws regarding this controversial process differ across Australia, and have changed dramatically overtime in Queensland. In this seminar, I will be analysing the issues involved with surrogacy, as well as evaluating and critiquing the new legislation that has been implemented in Queensland, that sets out the laws of surrogacy in Queensland.
Surrogate pregnancy was talked about and questioned in the early 1970’s but was not put into practice until 1976. The first case documented actually comes from the bible. It was the story of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah talks about her experience with infertility. She then turns to Hagar, her handmaiden, and asks her if she would carry their child for them since she was unable to. Hagar was their maid so in a way it was a command, not exactly a favor or question.
“Time to Ban Surrogate Motherhood,” written by Lynda Hurst and “Surrogate Motherhood: Why it Should Be Permitted,” written by Allan C. Hutchinson, are persuasive texts where the authors’ attempts to influence the audience to agree with their side of the argument on surrogate motherhood. According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, surrogate motherhood is defined as, “a woman who bears a child for another person, often for pay, either through artificial insemination or by carrying until birth another woman's surgically implanted fertilized egg.” Since the persuasive works are published in different newspapers, one being The Toronto Star and the other being The Globe and Mail, the works are written for different target audiences. Comparing the articles of Lynda Hurst and Allan C. Hutchinson, numerous differences between the elements of tone and the types of structure define the target audience.
Commercial surrogacy respects the feminist theory as it allows women to be heard and considers their feelings and relationships. Commercial surrogacy overcomes oppression by returning power to surrogates, defeating the patriarchal society and providing autonomy. Commercial surrogacy also tackles the issue of potentially exploiting women by protecting surrogates and, addressing the risks of surrogacy. There are many ethical issues surrounding women and the feminist theory can be a powerful tool in determining moral
The addition of a child into a family’s home is a happy occasion. Unfortunately, some families are unable to have a child due to unforeseen problems, and they must pursue other means than natural pregnancy. Some couples adopt and other couples follow a different path; they utilize in vitro fertilization or surrogate motherhood. The process is complicated, unreliable, but ultimately can give the parents the gift of a child they otherwise could not have had. At the same time, as the process becomes more and more advanced and scientists are able to predict the outcome of the technique, the choice of what child is born is placed in the hands of the parents. Instead of waiting to see if the child had the mother’s eyes, the father’s hair or Grandma’s heart problem, the parents and doctors can select the best eggs and the best sperm to create the perfect child. Many see the rise of in vitro fertilization as the second coming of the Eugenics movement of the 19th and early 20th century. A process that is able to bring joy to so many parents is also seen as deciding who is able to reproduce and what child is worthy of birthing.
In summary, oppression of women is a serious issue because many women are not treated as men and withheld from every opportunity. However, because of these outcomes, women are prevented from achieving higher goals, such as getting an education, pursuing a career, and having word of their own. Therefore, women have to stand up for their rights and fight back to show men that women are not only housekeepers, but they are equal and smart as men are. Women will continue to waste their talents if they get used to the idea that they have to achieve their feminine roles because of oppression of man.
The advancement and continued developments of third-party assisted reproductive medical practices has allowed many prospective parents, regardless of their marital status, age, or sexual orientation, to have a new opportunity for genetically or biologically connected children. With these developments come a number of rather complex ethical issues and ongoing discussions regarding assisted reproduction within our society today. These issues include the use of reproductive drugs, gestational services such as surrogacy as well as the rights of those seeking these drugs and services and the responsibilities of the professionals who offer and practice these services.
Western couples paying about $8000 to Indian surrogate mother because it is one-third cheaper than the rate in the U.S.,
A woman enters into a contract that consists on her getting pregnant with a strangers sperms, and after the baby is born, to give up the baby. The stranger is going to pay the medical expenses and $10,000 in exchange of claiming all the parental rights when the baby is born. The stranger is a good person who has not been able to have children on his own. Why does the morality of the action may seem doubtful? Philosopher Elizabeth Anderson wrote an essay called “is Women’s Labor a Commodity?” to explain in detail the reasons of commercial surrogacy being morally wrong. In her paper, Anderson explains that commercial surrogacy treats children and parental rights as objects that could be bought and sold for personal convenience. According to
Women have been treated unequally since the beginning of time. Just recently have things began to change for the better for women and the future of our society. The increase in women’s equality rights will take time, but some day women and men will be treated equally. This cannot happen until each of us is able to look at a person and just see another individual, not a male or a female, white or black, rich or poor… a person as just a person.
Gestational surrogacy, especially when it involves commercial surrogates, challenges the status quo in the ethical theory of reproduction, because with this technology the process of producing a child can no longer remain a private matter. Now a public contract exists between two parties, the couple and the surrogate ...
Arguments against commercial surrogacy typically revolve around the idea that surrogacy is a form of child-selling. Critics believe that commercial surrogacy violates both women’s and children’s rights. In addition, by making surrogacy contracts legally enforceable, courts will follow the contract rather than choose what is best for the child. However, in her article “Surrogate Mothering: Exploring Empowerment” Laura Pudry is not convinced by these arguments.
In a world where there have been so many advancements, is it really necessary to have laws to protect us from discrimination in the workplace? The answer is a definite yes. Unfortunately, in these progressive times, employment laws are very important for protection from discrimination. There are cases of different types of discrimination in the news everyday, all over the world. "Employment Discrimination laws seek to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical disability, and age by employers.(1)" "Discriminatory practices include bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, compensation, and various types of harassment.(1)" There have been a number of federal laws enacted since the 1960s that prohibit discrimination in the workplace. In a society where a large percentage of the workforce is made up of women, to include mothers, the Pregnancy Discrimination is very important. Especially considering that the number of pregnancy discrimination complaints that were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) jumped 39% from fiscal year 1992 to 2003 (3). This amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prote...
Surrogacy allows couples who do not want to adopt and cannot conceive, have children. One important factor in favor of surrogacy is that people who want to have and love a child should be able to have options. In Alice Jolly’s article detailing her experience hiring a surrogate, the lives of the parents, the two women donors, and the child were happy and healthy. Another reason parents would chose surrogacy is the biological component. Unlike adoption, a surrogate child can have the genetic makeup
Surrogacy is becoming extremely popular as a way for people to build their families and women to have a source of income. Many people have various reasons for their opposition to it whether it be by comparing it to prostitution or disagreeing with how military wives take advantage of the Tricare insurance. Lorraine Ali states in her article “The Curious Lives of Surrogates” that one of the more popular reasons to oppose surrogacy is that it contradicts, “what we’ve always thought of as an unbreakable bond between mother and child.” However, a woman’s inability to conceive her own children does not determine the absence of a mother to child bond.