To feel uncomfortable with celebrity surrogacy?

[Username91]

After reading about Amber Herd having a baby girl via surrogate it just got me thinking about the amount of famous people who have children this way. I have nothing against surrogacy, it just seems to me that a lot of rich women choose to have children this way and I’m not convinced they ALL have problems carrying children themselves. I find it a bit disturbing and wondered if I’m alone in thinking this?

Once again I’d like to point out I’m not surrogacy bashing here. I just don’t think it should be something that is used by women with money as they don’t like the idea of carrying their own babies, of course it’s very different for women who struggle to conceive/carry themselves.

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9717991/The-British-couples-pay-40-000-child-Ukraines-hellish-baby-factory.html

I'll just leave this here for anyone who thinks surrogacy is a good idea

@Username91

After reading about Amber Herd having a baby girl via surrogate it just got me thinking about the amount of famous people who have children this way. I have nothing against surrogacy, it just seems to me that a lot of rich women choose to have children this way and I’m not convinced they ALL have problems carrying children themselves. I find it a bit disturbing and wondered if I’m alone in thinking this?

Once again I’d like to point out I’m not surrogacy bashing here. I just don’t think it should be something that is used by women with money as they don’t like the idea of carrying their own babies, of course it’s very different for women who struggle to conceive/carry themselves.

Most of Mumsnet 'surrogacy bashes' anyway so doubt you'll have many issues

The celebrity aspect is irrelevant to me...i'm against surrogacy in all circumstances.

I think it’s flat out wrong. It’s handmaids tale territory. Should be banned.

Where does this end? No rich women having babies for themselves when they can pay a sub class of women to have their babies for them?

@YouShouldLeave

*” It's so entirely centred around the needs of the adult to have a baby, without thinking of the issues that the child may endure”

Same could be said about every pregnancy ever.*

But when I chose to become pregnant I assumed the risk. So I was at risk of any of the life-long conditions that a woman is exposed to by carrying a child to term. Any stretch marks, varicose veins, gestational diabetes, happened to me. Having a child is one of the most dangerous things a typical woman can do.

I don't agree with it either I'm afraid.

For every 1 celeb who has used a woman as vessel to produce paid for offspring, there are 100s of women in poor countries coerced and exploited using surrogacy as a way of making money.

I remember reading one of these baby making factories, due to the pandemic, lots of new born surrogate babies were stuck in orphanges because the parents who bought them, could not fly over to pick them up. What a start to life. Taken away from the mum who has carried you for 9 months to be stuck in a crib and left for god knows how long.

Seeing high profile celebs buying their babies, normalises surrogacy to the point where it makes this practice, all over the world, regardless of the impact to the women who take part in this procedure, absolutely fine.

[quote LizziesTwin]@YouShouldLeave

*” It's so entirely centred around the needs of the adult to have a baby, without thinking of the issues that the child may endure”

Same could be said about every pregnancy ever.*

But when I chose to become pregnant I assumed the risk. So I was at risk of any of the life-long conditions that a woman is exposed to by carrying a child to term. Any stretch marks, varicose veins, gestational diabetes, happened to me. Having a child is one of the most dangerous things a typical woman can do.[/quote]
Exactly - it's Gilead with money

Infertility doesn’t discriminate. Being a celebrity won’t prevent you from being infertile, it’s just that we’re more likely to hear about it.

As for the effects on children, Cambridge University has a long standing research study into surrogacy born children (and other non-traditional ways of building a family) and the results show they are as well adjusted as children born ‘the normal way’.

@CP26 what about the effects on the surrogates though? And my point is that women seem to be choosing this rather than it being because they are infertile.

All the people saying surrogacy is essentially 'buying a baby', then what is IVF?

@Moorelewis

All the people saying surrogacy is essentially 'buying a baby', then what is IVF?

A medical procedure

@Comedycook which you have to pay for often and involves another woman's eggs sometimes?

@Username91 Cambridge also tracked the experiences of surrogates over a long period and found it positive. None of them expressed regrets. I’ll try and link to the study

www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.law.cam.ac.uk/files/images/www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/documents/surrogacy/cfr_publications_on_surrogacy_2012-2019_.pdf

How do you know celebrities are choosing it rather than being infertile? It’s perfectly possible to be an infertile celebrity.

Amber - "the nature of my job compels me to take control of this"

So actually BEING pregnant might be inconvenient?

@Moorelewis it’s buying a baby from a poor woman/woman who needs to do it for the money
IVF is buying a medical procedure to have a baby

[quote Moorelewis]@Comedycook which you have to pay for often and involves another woman's eggs sometimes?[/quote]
If you think paying doctors for performing a medical procedure is the same as paying woman for the use of her womb then really I'm lost for words.

@Bksjshsbbev2737 well in this circumstance, yes. My cousin had a hysterectomy aged 17 due to cancer. She kept her ovaries. Her sister kindly offer to be her surrogate, as for obvious reasons, she was unable to have IVF. She would have been unable to have her own children any other way.

I do think egg donation is morally suspect too.

I just think that infertility should not be overcome by swapping out parts of women to produce a child whose access to knowing who their mother is via complicated philosophical questions that amount to biological top trumps.

I am very concerned about the exploitation of women in this way. I don’t think paying another woman to take all the risks of pregnancy for you is morally right.

@Comedycook oh get off your high horse. Not all situations involve 'paying' for a womb. Unless you have had something awful happen to a family member, you wouldn't understand

[quote LizziesTwin]@YouShouldLeave

*” It's so entirely centred around the needs of the adult to have a baby, without thinking of the issues that the child may endure”

Same could be said about every pregnancy ever.*

But when I chose to become pregnant I assumed the risk. So I was at risk of any of the life-long conditions that a woman is exposed to by carrying a child to term. Any stretch marks, varicose veins, gestational diabetes, happened to me. Having a child is one of the most dangerous things a typical woman can do.[/quote]
Ooops! I read it as in issues that the child may endure.

[quote Moorelewis]@Comedycook oh get off your high horse. Not all situations involve 'paying' for a womb. Unless you have had something awful happen to a family member, you wouldn't understand[/quote]
I will never have my own children. That doesn’t give me the right to potentially inflict life changing birth injuries on another woman so I could have a baby.

Don’t assume this issue divides nearly down women with experience of infertility and those who don’t.

@PurpleDaisies your decision. As it was my cousins decision to be a surrogate for her sister.

[quote Moorelewis]@Comedycook oh get off your high horse. Not all situations involve 'paying' for a womb. Unless you have had something awful happen to a family member, you wouldn't understand[/quote]
I have no idea what you mean.

I'm against surrogacy in all circumstances, however sad they are. I'm not on a high horse at all.