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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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MN editorial on how wonderful surrogacy is

259 replies

anothernotherone · 03/07/2019 22:09

This is on the MN homepage: www.mumsnet.com/pregnancy/surrogacy

Isn't this a massively controversial issue related to the exploitation of the female body as an incubator?

Are MN picking sides on a massively controversial issue, or has whoever's written and selected this rosey whitewash coverage of surrogacy not engaged their brain fully?

OP posts:
JessicaWakefieldSV · 03/07/2019 22:50

To intentionally create a child that is to be separated from its mother, is immoral in my opinion. It is a truly selfish thing to do. For the majority of surrogacy, it’s about poor women supplying their body and taking great personal health risks, to satisfy the desires of the rich. I am completely against it.

LadyGardens · 03/07/2019 22:42

My best friend used a surrogate as she could produce eggs but not carry a pregnancy. The surrogate wanted a year at home with her own kids but could not afford it. The surrogacy paid for her year at home. She was happy and the parents were ecstatic to be able to have a child.

Yes there are risks but why is her using her body to earn a year’s wage worse than another person using their body to earn through a risky job on construction or in the armed forces? Many jobs carry physical risks.

anothernotherone · 03/07/2019 22:36

I've got a daughter and two sons and had life threatening birth complications during one of my births. I'd hate to see a situation where DD was pressured to be a surrogate for one of brothers (with her egg and his partner's sperm if he was in a same sex relationship, for example). Pregnancy can be dangerous but families can feel duty bound to help one another out, and the very real dangers and lasting impact of pregnancy are still largely taboo.

OP posts:
anothernotherone · 03/07/2019 22:30

truthisarevolutionaryact it reads like an infomercial though - it's very one sided indeed and says that surrogacy is a wonderful thing.

There are issues with family members being pressured and emotionally blackmailed into being surrogates, as well as the more obvious blatant exploitation of economic surrogacy. The article doesn't come close to being balanced.

OP posts:
IsThatYourOverbite · 03/07/2019 22:25

Ads for sex worker jobs next?

JessicaWakefieldSV · 03/07/2019 22:22

I’m not impressed

sakura184 · 03/07/2019 22:20

We had a thread on here about it last week. It was unanimous that surrogacy should be banned

RubberTreePlant · 03/07/2019 22:19

Oh dear. That is a bit one-sided, considering how controversial surrogacy is.

truthisarevolutionaryact · 03/07/2019 22:16

Hmm - I think it's perfectly reasonable to have an article about this - I've only scanned it but much of it seems informative. While I personally disapprove of some aspects of surrogacy I don't have a problem with close family being surrogates (with the right legal framework).
Mumsnet exists to make life easier for women and parents and as some women are involved in surrogacy I don't believe in censoring their access to information.