Surrogacy

[poliphilo]

A childless friend of mine is considering surrogacy. I know what I feel- which is "yeuch"; I'm less sure what I think.  To help me make up my mind my friend sent me this article from The New York Times.  The author has had two kids with two different surrogates, is awfully pleased with the supremely ethical choices she has made- and seems to believe- as rich people so often do- that the people she is paying are smiling at her because they love her. She also descends, towards the end, into nauseating babytalk. The article hasn't changed my feelings. If anything it has hardened them- but I don't like finding myself on the same side as the Pope.  Are my objections atavistic and patriarchal or am I right to trust my gut? 

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think my revulsion from surrogacy has a lot to do with its unfamiliarity. It's a relatively new idea. It hasn't been debated all that much. Society isn't comfortable with it. We haven't worked out the ethics.

The women who acted as surrogates for the author of the article were neither of them desperately needy- and seem to have chosen to do it- by her account anyway- because they enjoy being pregnant.