Exploitation in International Paid Surrogacy Arrangements

Wilkinson, Stephen

doi:10.1111/japp.12138

Cited by 38 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In this respect I concur with arguments offered in Wilkinson (2016), although this work pre-dates that publication.…”

Section: Notessupporting

confidence: 89%

Surrogate labour: exceptional for whom?

Parry

2018

Economy and Society

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The desire for genetically related children is driving an exponential rise in assisted reproductive service provision worldwide, including the Global South. In India, the number of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) clinics has more than doubled over the past three years. This expansion has been accompanied by a similarly explosive growth in populist narratives that assert that one of the services offered by such clinics, commercial gestational surrogacy (CGS), is a form of labour that is so exceptional(ly) exploitative it should be banned. Provocative headlines proclaiming that surrogates are ‘Renting their wombs’ and ‘Pimping their pregnancies’ fuel such assertions, suggesting that surrogates become reduced to mere wombs, vessels for carrying the offspring of entitled and wealthy foreigners. Although superficially compelling, such arguments fail to withstand detailed interrogation. Utilizing insights from anthropology, the history of science and law and bringing to bear the findings of extended fieldwork in Mumbai, Jaipur and Delhi, I critically analyse three assertions made in relation to surrogacy: that it is (i) a particularly intimate or invasive form of bodily exploitation; (ii) a uniquely sacralized form of affective labour and (iii) a uniquely generative form of labour. In arguing against exceptionalism, I contend that such practices cannot be adjudged through application of universal ethical principles and norms, but rather must take account of the complexity of the lived experience of all the participants, placed in their sociological and geographical contexts.

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“…In this respect I concur with arguments offered in Wilkinson (2016), although this work pre-dates that publication.…”

Section: Notessupporting

confidence: 89%

Surrogate labour: exceptional for whom?

Parry

2018

Economy and Society

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“…4 The concern here is the wrongful or unfair use of a woman to have a child for another for payment. 14,15 Focusing on women's reproductive labour to benefit a commissioning couple may also fail to show appropriate respect, 16 particularly given Summary Commercial or compensated surrogacy involves providing payment for a woman to gestate a fetus to term and then hand over the child to commissioning parent(s). Compensated surrogacy is currently restricted by law or regulation in all Australian states and territories.…”

Section: Regulation Of Transnational Compensated Surrogacy In Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the practicalities of ensuring valid consent in a social context of deprivation and inequality are not simple. 14 Further, a contract in which the subject of the exchange is a reproductive service may be ethically distinct from contracts that do not involve this type of exchange. Surrogacy impacts bodily integrity, is a constant commitment for the period of gestation, restricts behaviour, is risky (with potential lasting physical and emotional effects) and leads to the birth of a new individual.…”

Section: Regulation Of Transnational Compensated Surrogacy In Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, surrogacy is but one example of wider problems of exploitation in the face of global inequities. 14…”

Section: Regulation Of Transnational Compensated Surrogacy In Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wilkinson rejects the claim that surrogacy is "baby selling" on numerous grounds. 14,15 One is that a surrogate does not own the baby (insofar as anyone can do this); the commissioning parents do. A handover clause also does not make surrogacy baby selling; it makes it a service contract with a success clause.…”

Section: The Question Of Commodificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Compensated transnational surrogacy in Australia: time for a comprehensive review

Newson

2016

Medical Journal of Australia

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Commercial or compensated surrogacy involves providing payment for a woman to gestate a fetus to term and then hand over the child to commissioning parent(s). Compensated surrogacy is currently restricted by law or regulation in all Australian states and territories. New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory also restrict commissioning transnational compensated surrogacy, although there is evidence that this is not acting as a deterrent. Ethical issues arising in transnational compensated surrogacy include concerns relating to exploitation, commodification and welfare. The current status quo is unsatisfactory on legal, ethical and practical grounds. It is time to openly debate how Australia should balance the desire for childbearing through surrogacy with the limited domestic availability of women willing to act as surrogates.

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The European Court of Human Rights Shaping Family Life in Cross-border Surrogacy: The Paradiso et Campanelli Case

Gervasi

2019

Use and Misuse of New Technologies

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Exploitation in International Paid Surrogacy Arrangements

Cited by 38 publications

References 13 publications

Surrogate labour: exceptional for whom?

Surrogate labour: exceptional for whom?

Compensated transnational surrogacy in Australia: time for a comprehensive review

The European Court of Human Rights Shaping Family Life in Cross-border Surrogacy: The Paradiso et Campanelli Case

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