Kerry Katona and surrogacy. Thoughts?

[ChocChipOwl]

I'm just watching Kerry on tv ad I eat my lunch. She has 5 children and, because her partner doesn't have any kids, they're going to go down the surrogacy route as her last pregnancy and birth was difficult

She said - and I quote - 'yeah we are going to get a surrogate because that's safer.'

Safer for who, I wonder?

Anyway, it got me thinking. I always used to be ambivalent about surrogacy but now I'm opposed to it, although I do recognise that on some occasions it may have a place.

But does it have a place for a 42 year old woman who already had 5 children and is so blasé about it all?

I’m struggling to see why this is a feminism issue? Or is it because it’s about giving birth (or not in this case)? Not being argumentative, I’m genuinely curious.

'I always used to be ambivalent about surrogacy but now I'm opposed to it'

Same for me

As for KK, dear god. I guess a new relationship and a new baby is a way for her to stay relevant, and hawk her story around the daytime TV shows or whatever, and the surrogacy angle adds an extra level of 'interest'. I find the whole thing pretty obscene tbh

Because it’s the whole idea of effectively using another woman’s womb, ie “using” another woman.

I think KK is absolutely mad doing this. It’s very selfish. I don’t know why she seems to think she needs to have a baby with every man she’s with.

Becoase using your wealth to purchase the womb of a woman Is pretty distasteful?

@NotDonna It really really is a feminist issue - not least because it's normally men paying women to use their wombs

So is the paying for it that you take issue with?

For example if my sister couldn't carry, and I was her surrogate. Would that be okay?

Not trying to be a sick, I'm genuinely curious and don't really know where I stand on the issue.

@User38899953 I'm not entirely sure what my issue is tbh- I'm still working that out

I suppose it's that I don't think that A having a baby is such a human right that women can be paid for womb rental and B ... think about if you want to buy a kitten or a puppy. You're not allowed to take the kitten for 8-10 weeks because it has to stay with its mother. Yet with a baby born via surrogacy, the baby is removed immediately after birth and handed to 'strangers' ... why is this?

I think I've read that studies are being done on this and just how harmful it potentially is

I could not believe that she wants yet another child. She already has 5 for goodness sake which is far too many.

Saying her new partner hasn't got any children of his own is sickening. Oh what a shame. Maybe he should have thought of that before getting involved with a gobby who already has so many.

Anyway pretty obvious the relationship won't last

I'm not bashing KK personally by the way. I don't mind Kerry really. It just so happened that it was her who caught my eye today and the blasé wave of her hand about 'oh yes we will do surrogacy as it's safer'

And I thought 'wtf? Safer for who?'

And it makes me think of that Brian Dowling (sp?) and his partner and the one from westlife and Ollie Locke etc etc etc ... buying babies, using women for their wombs and taking these babies after the birth.

And I don't think it's right

But does it have a place for a 42 year old woman who already had 5 children and is so blasé about it all?

No. None at all. But I suspect you'll never see KK announce a new baby via surrogate or otherwise and it's far more likely she just needs a new reason to get herself on TV.

I know of a sister to sister surrogacy and that felt OK to me. The non-surrogate sister was just as invested in the health of her sister as she was her own. The baby handover was very much a family affair where they lived together for several weeks to properly invest in the new mother/baby relationship and they're all still really close now.

That felt less like exploitation and more like enduring love between sisters to help in any way they could.

I have to say, that's a rare example for me. Most surrogate stories I hear are about exploiting privilege and have little or no regard for the wellbeing of the woman carrying the baby - and where the baby is seen as a commodity with a 'right' to be handed over immediately rather than a baby who needs to be close to it's mother...which as a PP pointed out is the kindness we at least give baby animals!

That KK is doing this smacks of that privilege. She should be ashamed of herself.

Well for one thing a human is not a dog or cat and makes for a poor mother substitute. Whereas a human can care for another persons newborn just as well other than the breastfeeding.
As for KK, she's doing it because she can.
I think surrogacy has its place but whether you agree with one particular person's motives really isn't relevant. I personally think she should concentrate on the children she already has.

Generally speaking I think it's an incredible thing that couples unable to conceive together have this option, if the surrogate is of sound mind and sure they want to do it, great. I do think it should be more regulated though.

I don't think somebody like Kerry should be a candidate for surrogacy. She is not infertile, she has five children, by several men. She has just reached an age where getting pregnant isn't always easy and will probably be harder on her body so she is choosing to find somebody else to do it.

I think fertility treatments should be for people that physically cannot conceive together, whether that's due to being same sex, or being infertile. Not for people that are just getting older and already have half a football team of their own.

Her partner knew what he was taking on when they met and should either accept the situation as it is and be a family with her existing children, or move on with someone who can make him a father. It isn't a necessity to have a baby with every person you have a relationship with, especially when you can't/won't go through it yourself, and it isn't a god given right to become a parent either.

If you don't understand why surrogacy is a feminist issue this breaks it down: objectnow.org/surrogacy/

Also good: cbc-network.org/stop-surrogacy-now/

And as for women who 'only' donate eggs: "This summary addresses four issues that demonstrate that the human rights of women who are solicited to provide their eggs are being violated (4). These issues include:
Coercion of “donors”
Eugenic commodification of egg providers
Health risks to suppliers and recipients
Effects of third party reproduction on the children produced"

cbc-network.org/issues/making-life/egg-donation/

I'll never forget an article I read (I think in the Times?) about Indian baby farms where very poor Indian women would go to live in a big (but very low quality and low standard of living think single beds in a shared dormitory) to gestate the babies they were carrying for rich foreign people. The women were paid very little but comparatively more than they might be paid doing other "work". Most of them did it many times over. It was thoroughly depressing.

I've always had a soft spot for Kerry Katona. Yes she has made some poor life choices but I don't think she had the best start in life. She gave up her blossoming career to be a wife and a mother and then that snake of a husband dumped her for a new model.
She has obviously suffered with mental health problemsand been exploited for juicy gossip stories in the gutter press. .
She is already a mother of five and imo should concentrate on being a good mother to them, rather than thinking a baby with a new man will make him love her and stay with her.
Don't do it Kerry!!

Same as Katie Price spending whilst bankrupt. Totally out of touch with reality. On what level is this a good idea before you even get to the surrogacy part. Smacks of trying to keep my man when let's face it the predecessors haven't been all that and stuck around for their kids have they?

I wish we could deny Kerry Katona, Katie Price, assorted reality TV ‘stars’ and their ilk the publicity they desperately crave whilst simultaneously whining about it.

A family in lreland just had triplets by surrogacy in Kenya paying a vast sum. When they were about to get the babies they were asked for more and more money and cannot receive the babies until that money is paid. Its sounds just horrific and all the time this is going on three little babies are somewhere and not getting to bond with their new parents. I think the whole area is so open to corruption that its a very risky road to go down. Saying that l do understand how devastating it is not to be able to conceive. But it does worry me.

Just look at Priyanka Chopra.

According to multiple reports the couple decided to opt for a surrogate because their busy work schedules were interrupting their family planning. It reported that the actress does not have fertility issues, but it was difficult for them to plan to be together when she could conceive.

🤦‍♀️

TBF I'm not going to particularly single out KK for this just because she's not an ideal role model. Surrogacy is wrong. It's wrong for Priyanka Chopra, it's wrong for Tom Daly, it's wrong for KK too but not because she's a troubled soul with plenty of kids already - it's because it's wrong full stop.

Vê been a surrogate twice for a good friend , that was no more meu involved so no financial gain or coercion in any way . Those against altruistic surrogacy need to maybe research it a bit better . I’m against comercial surrogacy and even more if done in extreme poor countries as India , Ukraine etc . But I do not think surrogacy is a bad thing at all

The wording she used, "get a surrogate", just shows how surrogacy is viewed as just another service you can pay for. Depressing.

She has plenty of kids and doesn’t need any more - totally doing it for the PR and money