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...
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... 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.
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.
..., Legal ,Moral & International Perspectives on Surrogate Motherhood: The Call for A Uniform regulatory Scheme in The United States, Depaul Journal of Health Care Law Vol.2:557,pp585
A surrogacy is the carrying of a pregnancy for intended parents. There are two kinds of surrogacy: “Gestational”, in which the egg and sperm belong to the intended parents and is carried by the surrogate, and “traditional”, where the surrogate is inseminated with the intended father’s sperm. Regardless of the method, I believe that surrogacy cannot be morally justified. Surrogacy literally means “substitute”, or “replacement”. A surrogate is a replacement for a mother for that 9-month period of pregnancy, and therefore is reducing the role of the surrogate mother to an oversimplified and dehumanizing labor. The pregnancy process for the gestational mother can be very physically and mentally demanding, and is unique because after birthing the
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.
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.
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.
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.
[9] Shanley, M.L, Surrogate Mothering and Women's Freedom: A Critique of Contracts for Human Reproduction, (Politics and the Human Body) editors-Elshtain, J.B, and Cloyd J.T1995, Vanderbitt University Press, Tennessee back
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
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...
Commercial surrogacy commodifies children because by paying the surrogate mother to give up her child, they treat the child as an object of exchange or commodity that can be bought and sold. As any business transaction, the parents give money for the exchange of an object, the child. The parents get their desired child and the mother gets the money, but what about what thee child think about this event? The parents and surrogate mother’s action were done with self-interest. It could be argued that they wanted the best for the child. However, the first priority in the intentional procreation of the child was not the welfare of the child but rather to give it up to the parents in exchange of money. Additionally, women’s labor is commodified because the surrogate mother treats her parental rights as it was a property right not as a trust. In other words, the decisions taken concerning the child are not done primarily for the benefit of the child. The act of the mother relenting her parental rights is done for a monetary price. She disposes of her parental rights, which are to be managed for the welfare of the owner, as if they were property right, which are to be handled for personal
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
Most young people envision their future in the realm of getting married and creating a family. One of the most devastating things that can happen to a young couple is to be told they cannot have children. There are several options the couple can pursue, and one of those options available is surrogacy. Society today is torn on whether or not surrogacy should be legal in today’s world. Surrogacy is very controversial for many people around the world, and opinions are strong on the subject. Surrogacy is defined as the utilization of a third party female in order for a infertile family to create a biological child for their family. Legalized surrogacy is important to many couples as an option of creating the family they have always dreamed