Why surrogacy should be banned

Buying and selling people is wrong, and babies are people too. It doesn't matter if the people doing it are men or women; it's abhorrent.

As a feminist, I have no problems limiting women's rights to buy and sell humans. I should hope no feminists would champion any unethical act just because it was done by a woman. If a woman is complicit in sex trafficking, she should be held accountable and go to jail and I do not think she has a right to engage in the business of procuring women and girls for sex.

I haven’t read all through this but it strikes me as quite sad when ‘feminists’ want to limit other women’s rights.

Comparing surrogacy to ‘Never Let Me Go’ is both to misunderstand the brilliant book (which I have read) and to want to outlaw therapeutic massage as some ‘massage’ parlours use trafficked women.

Yes, there are risks to surrogacy, and people could do it for nefarious reasons, but that is an argument for decent regulation, not banning it.

As some posters above have pointed out, it can be a win/win situation for all parties.

Adoption going down and surrogacy going up is probably a bit chicken and egg.

The documentary ALSO revealed a common theme from the now adult children of, "How could you BUY me?" One woman talked about how her mother noticed her 'adopted baby' was still covered in birth blood when handed to them and seemed terribly small. Some loved their adoptive parents and didn't want to blame them for being scammed, but one woman said her adoptive parents' behavior and willingness to do what was obviously not above board was "not love, but an act of desperation."

In particular this from Jennifer Lahl, in the USA.

"Agree decrease in adoption = increase in surrogacy. I attended a conference for AARTA.org (adoption attorneys). Nearly every presentation was how to move your law practice to surrogacy /3rd party conception and away from adoption law."

Funny you should mention that @OhHolyJesus
I have just been reading on twitter about the connection between the decline in adoption and the rise in surrogacy.

As a slight aside, I do worry that as surrogacy increases adoption will decrease. Every story I read promotes surrogacy over and above adoption, saying how hard it is (and it is, for good reason, a very detailed and lengthy process).

Brian Dowling has been in the press recently saying how surrogacy laws need to be relaxed so it is easier in Ireland. He had previous extolled the virtues of adoption.

I realise there is little research into adoption, much less surrogacy, but I wonder what the overall impact there is if childless couples seeking parenthood prefer to buy a baby from overseas rather than look to give a family and home to a child who could be adopted.

I just don’t agree with the view of because a woman comes from a poor country, therefore she doesn’t have a choice.
Especially coming from a Western rich/middle class woman.
It’s very patronising.

Gosh how awful of us rich (*checks bank account) middle class women to care about the welfare of women less fortunate than ourselves in different jurisdictions. Of course they're not being exploited. Of course they just love gestating babies for rich westerners (not the ones who are concerned for their welfare).

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/9/13/ukraines-baby-factories-the-human-cost-of-surrogacy

I can't believe that there are some people who don't realise (or don't want to realise) the huge harm that is done to an infant to remove them from their birth mothers.
In adoption this might be a necessary evil, but surrogacy is just wrong in my eyes.
I'm sure we will hear more from these surrogacy babies when they become adults and can describe the effects it has had on them.
That's putting aside the slavery aspect which obviously is horrific too

I have two adopted daughters, my youngest was placed in my care the day of her birth with her birth mothers consent. Sadly bm was not able to care for her child so she chose to allow this so that my dd could have the best chance possible.
Not for one second did I underestimate the damage that taking my dd away from her birth mother did. She was familiar with her heartbeat, knew her inside out. Books such as the primal wound deal with this is detail.
I have adopted but I oppose surrogacy for that reason. Adoption is sometimes necessary, surrogacy isn't and to coldly and deliberately cause trauma to a innocent child is to my mind not ok.

stopsurrogacynowuk.org/2021/05/31/surrogacy-in-the-media-a-review-of-bbc-threes-the-surrogates-long-read/

I just don’t agree with the view of because a woman comes from a poor country, therefore she doesn’t have a choice
Especially coming from a Western rich/middle class woman.
It’s very patronising

Oh purlease. Do you also think that children in developing countries who sift through mounds of rubbish to earn a pittance are doing it out of choice and to suggest otherwise is just patronising?

I would wonder what was lacking in their lives that they felt they could get by being a surrogate.

I have a close relative who did surrogacy for her gay friends and as far as I’m concerned everyone was very happy with the outcome.

I just don’t agree with the view of because a woman comes from a poor country, therefore she doesn’t have a choice.
Especially coming from a Western rich/middle class woman.
It’s very patronising.

Is there a study on why a woman would offer herself for surrogacy?
Is there a chance she may actually want to do it?

[quote oatlattetogo]@OchonAgusOchonOh I’m not condoning her use of a surrogate, as I said. She already had two healthy children. I just think if a real person is going to be used as an example of something then their experience should be described accurately, not made up/minimised to fit a particular narrative.[/quote]
Fair enough.

It’s very cruel and inhumane to women and babies to separate a baby from its mother. '

What about donor egg babies? I don't consider using egg donors to have a child any less inhumane than surrogacy

Many egg donors are also impoverished women or women desperate to have their own child so "sell" their own eggs to fund their IVF treatment

Yes there seems to be zero concern towards the mother or the body they rented as they probably view her.

They are a heterosexual couple and quite possibly the full genetic parents, ( providing both eggs and sperm) of the baby so it's entirely likely some such couples will never tell their child the truth about the circumstances of their birth.
I don't know if the baby will have a Ukraine birth certificate or be reissued a fictional British one.

Donor conception registers rely on the child being told they were conceived with gametes from someone other than their legal parents, the same would apply for surrogacy.

(I suppose an adult may question why there were no family pics of their mum whilst pregnant but that's easily explained away.)