Reproductive Tourism: The Commodifcation of Pregnancy and Women

We all know about surrogacy, the practice where an individual or family decides they cannot or do not want to carry a pregnancy. This could be for various reasons such as infertility and age. It occurs predominantly in the Western and European world. Many privileged women in the West have careers that keep them from having children until later in life causing them to seek surrogate mothers. By the way, for anyone living under a rock, a surrogate mother carries a pregnancy for another woman.

Now that we understand that surrogacy exists in the West, let us discuss the extent of this business.

The Young Turks here  made a fantastic video that examines the globalized aspect of this business. The United States, as we know, commodifies just about everything and wants everything at a very cheap price. How do you get cheap prices? Well, you leave your privileged country and go to a less privileged country and exploit their workers and their women by paying them next to nothing and weakening laws to protect them. This is exactly what is happening in India right now, according to The Young Turks and it is dubbed Reproductive Tourism. Tourism implies that one travels a significant distance to receive some sort of service or commodity. We all have heard about sex tourism, where women and children can be bought and sold for sexual purposes by tourists.. There is big money in the selling of female bodies and now you can rent a woman’s womb in India for a much lower cost than you could rent a womb in the U.S. Capitalism finds a solution to our inconveniences yet again! 

If it is too expensive then just find a place where you can do it for next to nothing and can take full advantage of the lack of regulations. That is the way of the West!

One case that TYT brought up regarded an Indian woman who had sent her child to what she thought was a boarding school only to find out that American women were actually using that so-called school to adopt children. This means that the American woman believed it to be an orphanage while the Indian woman believed it to be a school. Clearly, someone is lying to both of these women.

What does this mean for the women living in India? It likely means that they are trying to make some much needed money to survive. TYT brought up the point that many women in India will try and make extra money selling organs and that they would rather get pregnant for nine months than sell a necessary organ like a kidney.

However, it is important to note that these women are not paid until they deliver the child. How would a woman, who is not making much money any way, take care of herself during her pregnancy? How will she be able to pay for pregnancy health care and other necessities?

Why does this system of capitalism and the globalization that stems from it, make carrying a child for another woman across seas the only real option for survival, paying off debts and managing a family? The question same applies to sex tourism and various other global slave trades. There is something deeply wrong with this system.

 In the video by TYT they also state that many of these women have to hide themselves during their surrogate pregnancy lest they be found out by their communities. TYT mentions a woman from a wealthy Indian family and her experience living with a wealthy US family whose baby she is carrying. The Indian woman went to live with the family and the family accused her of stealing and kicked her out and rejected the child she was carrying for them. This means that the woman was left to take care of the child without much money to do so.

The families looking to have a child by using the bodies of other women are willing to go along with the lack of regulations in order to recieve an affordable surrogate. This means that these families do not really care about the surrogates. These surrogates are merely being used and are facing hardships because of the lack of regulations surroudning the practice in India. 

So, what is the problem? Well, as I do not judge the women in India, I feel that they are put in this situation because of globalization and capitalism. Why are people forced to live in poverty and forced to sell their kidneys, wombs and bodies to meet their basic needs? It is a shame that the bodies of women are used in such a way in such a systematic way. All of these issues stem from the same huge problem: capitalism. Capitalism keeps regulations diminished and keeps women down by maintaing their status of poverty. 

Check out the full video for more information and discussion