A new banner on the Surrogacy board

[FannyCann]

MNHQ have put a new banner on the Surrogacy board.

"Join the Mumsnet Surrogacy forum to connect with users in similar situations and discuss all aspects of surrogacy, including costs, well-being, legal processes, and types of surrogacy."

Looks like anyone who wants to warn posters of the risks and examples of surrogacy gone wrong will not be welcome.

Worse it looks as if "connecting" will be allowed/encouraged. Advertising for a surrogate is still illegal. The law commission have produced their report and a bill for parliament based on their 2019 consultation but the debate hasn't happened yet and the law hasn't changed yet. Advertising is still banned. So it's somewhat concerning if Mumsnet is about to become a surrogacy meet up place.

And whilst threads will attract many posters who are pro-surrogacy I think the overwhelming feeling on Mumsnet is that surrogacy is harmful for women and babies so it's a shame if policy is going in the direction of promoting surrogacy.

Furthermore, I know from posts that @delphinium (I hope I've got her username right and she sees this) has made that users in the USA are confronted with a wall of adverts relating to surrogacy when they log in to Mumsnet. Trust me, if the law changes this site will be a hotbed of advertising, offering to be a surrogate and seeking to make contact with one and no doubt seeking egg donors too.

Just posting the surrogacy resource thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3782983-surrogacy-resource-thread-please-post-your-links-here

And the Rumplestiltskin thread started by @barraker which I think was probably where I first learnt about the consultation and the Law Commission proposals.

The Rumplestiltskin Law
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3606313-The-Rumplestiltskin-Law

@barracker

@Barracker @Delphinium

I think your @s hadn't taken, OP, just bolding them there.

I'm glad you have noticed this and posted, OP. It's really important to be aware that 'be kind' isn't an appropriate response to the complexity that is surrogacy.

urgh

women as exploitable resources just feels so 'right' to so many people doesn't it?

Surrogacy in some forms is legal in the UK.
There may be lots of reasons why people think it is a bad idea, but whether the Surrogacy board is the right place for those discussions is moot.

I come from this as an adopter.
There are many strong views on adoption.
The occasional thread on the Adoption board regarding this is fine.
What would not be welcome is the anti threads becoming so numerous that the board is swamped, or individual threads about adoption being continually landed on by anti-adopters.

I personally think the same view should hold for surrogacy board.

agreed. I won't be going and posting on the surrogacy board - it's not for me

but if we start seeing people effectively advertising for surrogates then it will be reasonable to do something about that

OP you may be interested to see this. It's in the US, but worth being aware of seeing as how we seem to import so many of their ideas and approaches:

thepostmillennial.com/california-moves-to-provide-surrogates-to-gay-male-couples-in-the-name-of-fertility-equality

"California Bill SB 729 seeks to redefine "infertility" to be a status, as opposed to a medical condition. Changing the definition to "a person’s inability to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner without medical intervention" would classify gay men as infertile."

I wonder if they will also class people who don't have a partner as infertile?

I think that some of this tendency comes out of a wider approach to inequality generally though, which says that even inequalities that are caused by natural circumstances should be addressed in some way through social engineering.