Personal Response

“The Akanksha clinic is at the forefront of India’s booming trade in so-called reproductive tourism — foreigners coming to the country for infertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. The clinic’s main draw, however, is its success using local women to have foreigners’ babies. Surrogacy costs about $12,000 in India, including all medical expenses and the surrogate’s fee. In the U.S., the same procedure can cost up to $70,000.”

Science has developed considerably in a few years. But this development is facing some ethical issues that can’t be left a side. In this case, the surrogated mother is being a problem. Science has created a way to make unfertile mothers to give birth to their children by a “natural” pregnancy. But this process faces a lot of issues, such as abuse and slavery. The process can be acquired both in the US and in India, but in the last one is importantly cheaper. Why is there such a difference? Is an Indian mother less valuable than a US mother? I don’t think so.

Here we can appreciate abuse in a high level, but Indian mothers don’t feel like that. This is because, with the money they achieve while accepting this job, they can afford higher life expectations. But this is also an abuse, because they are paid less than a fourth than a US mother. Medicine is giving poor mothers the option of selling their body; “rent” their womb to American mothers who can’t achieve a pregnancy.  Because of the desperation of not having enough money, people are able to do anything. Science has opened the opportunity to be used by other people in exchange of money.  But is also an escape way to exploitation, because the amount of money a surrogated mother achieves in one birth is higher to the amount they may receive in another job in India. So it have negative and positive connotations that may affect or benefit mothers around the world.