Surrogacy is an arrangement in which an infertile couple takes the help of another woman as the carrier of their child in her womb. In this article, we will discuss the moral arguments about surrogacy and its arrangement in India. This article is not intended to discuss the laws of Surrogacy in India rather its credibility and moral implications, however, we may talk about them in short. All the views in this article are personal and in no way intended to harm the sentiments of any individual or group.
According to American feminist philosopher Rosemary Tong, ‘Surrogate Motherhood is a form of collaborative or assisted reproduction that typically involves three persons: a married infertile couple (the intended parents) and a surrogate mother.’ Surrogacy is of two types; Traditional Surrogacy and Gestational Surrogacy.
In traditional surrogacy, the couple’s sperm is artificially inseminated into the surrogate mother. The surrogate mother is the genetic and gestational carrier of the child. In this arrangement, the intended father is genetically connected to the child and not the intended mother. In gestational surrogacy, both the intended mother and the intended father have a genetic connection to the child. The surrogate mother only carries the couple’s embryo produced through in vitro fertilization. Sometimes in gestational surrogacy, the surrogate carries an embryo adopted by the intended infertile couple so neither the intended parents nor the surrogate is genetically connected to the child.
Nowadays many unmarried couples, gay couples, and fertile couples who do not want to interrupt their lives with pregnancy opt for surrogacy. Further surrogacy arrangements are of two types commercial and non-commercial. In commercial surrogacy, the surrogate mother or the agency which facilitates surrogacy arrangements is paid. In non-commercial or gift surrogacy the surrogate is usually a close female relative or friend of the infertile couple and no money is charged except the medical charges of pregnancy and delivery.
India was a preferred destiny for surrogacy before industrial surrogacy was prohibited in 2015. In 2013, the govt of the Republic of India conjointly prohibited surrogacy for foreign homosexual couples and single couples. In 2016, a Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill was introduced and gone by Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, proposing to allow solely heterosexual Indian couples married for a minimum of 5 years with physiological condition issues to access selfless or unpaid surrogacy and thereby additional prohibition industrial surrogacy.
Surrogate motherhood has many opponents as well as advocates. First, I'd like to talk about the moral arguments against surrogacy. The major concern of the majority of non-supporters of surrogacy is the risk to the health of the child born through surrogacy. It is said that the surrogate may not take proper care of the gestating child as it is not her own so she is not liable for its health. The surrogate may not be emotionally attached to the baby so she would not be motivated to take proper care of it and not be committed to it. This, in turn, may cause harm to the health of the gestating child as well as the surrogate mother. If in any case, the child born is unhealthy in any way the intended parents may refuse to accept the baby and the baby may end up in adoption or orphanage. Some also have the mindset that if a surrogate is introduced into the lives of a family it may cause romantic and emotional problems in the family. It may weaken marital and familial relationships. Also if one of the parents is genetically connected to the child he/she may view himself/herself as having greater claim to the child and be emotionally more attached to the child as his/her flesh and blood. Sometimes if the father is genetically connected to the child he may start to see the surrogate as the ‘real’ mother of his child and may form a deeper emotional attachment with the surrogate creating constraint in his actual relationship. The surrogate if not vigilant may face problems like getting underpaid or not being looked after her medical and daily needs properly. The intended parents may force her to various tests and treatments like amniocentesis without her consent and force her to abort the child if the results of the test are not favourable causing serious health issues to her. The family of the surrogate may also be affected in the process as the husband of the surrogate if she is married, may not like the fact that her wife is carrying a child of another man. He may find it difficult to accept her as a surrogate due to the judgment of society. This brings us to the fact that society may also judge her for being a surrogate and carrying someday else’s child labelling it as an inappropriate act and accusing her of actually indulging in sexual positions with the man or selling something private and pure like a womb for business. The children of the surrogate might also feel discomfort and fear when they see their mother giving birth to a child and then giving it away.
But the major critic I believe in the arrangement of surrogacy is the evident case of classism. Majority of the women who work as surrogate mothers belong to economically weaker sections of society. Due to widespread demand for surrogacy among the rich and privileged class who can afford the costs of it, the underprivileged or vulnerable women who are in dire need of money are targeted and exploited. The surrogacy agency has become a high-growth business in the Indian urban region where generally women from rural areas are kidnapped, trafficked, or psychologically motivated to work as surrogates for the rich. The condition in which the surrogates are kept like cattle is extremely unhygienic and barbaric without proper facilities and they are used as machines to regularly produce children. The costs of surrogacy are so high that it is not possible for every middle-class person in India to afford it. Only the rich and privileged infertile couples can opt for surrogacy leaving the lower class as hopeless as ever.
But then one should also not forget the favours that this arrangement of surrogacy provides. It is like a boon for infertile couples to grow as a family. The advocates of surrogacy refute the claims made by the critics. It is said that surrogates take even more care of the baby as they believe that the baby is someone else so they should treat it well. Surrogacy also does not cause a rift in the family rather unites the two parties where both are equally benefited. The major beneficiaries are the intended parents who get a child genetically connected to them and then the surrogate mother who is abundantly paid and taken well care of for willingly selling her precious reproductive rights. Defenders of surrogacy claim that this arrangement brings close women creating a strong bond between them rather than creating a divide. The surrogates choose to take up this job willingly and knowingly to provide happiness in infertile couples’ lives. They are well informed and vigilant about their reproductive rights and the benefits to be enjoyed by them in return for gestating the baby.
But my question is why do people feel the need to have a child genetically connected to them? Is it because of the social stigmas present in our society for infertile couples especially women? Is it because of the concept of “Blood is Thicker than Water” proudly portrayed in our Indian cinema and culture? Is it because of the need for a “waris” who will carry forward the flesh, blood, and culture of the family? When the costs of surrogacy are so high and we can clearly see it has more pros than cons, then why are people still willing to go for it?
I believe that the population in India is already at an alarming rate causing various environmental concerns like global warming, when should one give birth and contribute to the end of the world when one can always ‘ADOPT’. The number of orphan children in the world is so high that if it were a country it would be the ninth most populous in the world. There are more than 153 million children waiting for their parents. The rising number of orphan children in the world is a serious issue and people need to understand the intensity of it. It's high time society understands that concepts like blood being thicker than water does not exist. People should turn to adoption giving a favourable life to those hopeless children.
Surrogacy if practised should completely be non-commercial as women are not child-producing machines and children are not ‘objects’ to be commodified. People cannot just expect to throw away money like they do in a vending machine and get desired children as an outcome. Children should not be viewed as a ‘product’ to be manufactured in a woman’s womb.
“Children should not be seen as Ken and Barbie Doll to be ordered from a catalogue.”
Sources:
Rosemary Tong, Surrogate Motherhood, A Companion to Applied Ethics
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrogacy_in_India
About the Author:
Sakshi Chhetry is pursuing her graduation from Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi. You will mostly find her sleeping, eating or obsessing about Harry Potter. She is a big Bollywood buff and extrovert person. You can talk to her about anything except science and electronics.
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