World Outsources Pregnancies to India

[HAL 9000 96]

Do it if you want to birth that badly... I think its just a little less complicated, however, just to go with the flow of biology if you can't have a birth baby and adopt a child. Plenty of those here... and in India.

The flow of biology says: "my DNA is better than yours".

Which is why the third world sees much higher fertility rates than does our neck of the woods. ???

I should look at that from a genetic point of view. Nothing a little genotyping and/or RFLP analysis can't tell you. Then again, we probably will only discover that its the environment we surround ourselves with that makes some people think there is an actual genetic component to third world vs first world fertility rates.

[Alex+R 0]

Guys, people do this all the time in the U.S. I think it's great for these women, who obviously aren't being forced into this, and who get computer and English classes. Wouldn't you go that far if that's what it took to have your kids?

This is what concerns me though:

Critics say the couples are exploiting poor women in India - a country with an alarmingly high maternal death rate - by hiring them at a cut-rate cost to undergo the hardship, pain and risks of labor.

I don't see anything wrong with using a surrogate mother, but this I find questionable.

But it has an alarmingly high maternal death rate because of lack of medical care, which these ladies seem to be getting in overkill. And some women like to be pregnant, so it might not seem like such a hardship to them. And the rate doesn't sound that low to me -- probably proportionate to what a woman would make in the U.S. (although not equal at all). I think "exploiting" implies some helplessness on the women's part. I really have no way of knowing if that's true although the women quoted don't seem to see it that way.

LAWL @Steven

[JVKn'CVO 11]

I feel sad that couples that are ready to have a child, and are in a position to offer the baby a loving home come across problems to concieve, but then you see couples that are just a mess and oopps! guess what the stork's next stop is.

Saludos,

Caro

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Guys, people do this all the time in the U.S. I think it's great for these women, who obviously aren't being forced into this, and who get computer and English classes. Wouldn't you go that far if that's what it took to have your kids?

This is what concerns me though:

Critics say the couples are exploiting poor women in India - a country with an alarmingly high maternal death rate - by hiring them at a cut-rate cost to undergo the hardship, pain and risks of labor.

I don't see anything wrong with using a surrogate mother, but this I find questionable.

But it has an alarmingly high maternal death rate because of lack of medical care, which these ladies seem to be getting in overkill. And some women like to be pregnant, so it might not seem like such a hardship to them. And the rate doesn't sound that low to me -- probably proportionate to what a woman would make in the U.S. (although not equal at all). I think "exploiting" implies some helplessness on the women's part. I really have no way of knowing if that's true although the women quoted don't seem to see it that way.

LAWL @Steven

If they are coming from dire poverty with no opportunity to get out of that poverty except in ways that compromise their values, then yes, they are being exploited. If they weren't economically destitute, then how many of them would willingly be surrogate mothers? I think we had the same problem here with young, poor women were offering to be surrogates for money and I believe that some laws were passed to prevent such exploitation. Willingness by the participant doesn't dissolve the act of being exploited.

[Alex+R 0]

Guys, people do this all the time in the U.S. I think it's great for these women, who obviously aren't being forced into this, and who get computer and English classes. Wouldn't you go that far if that's what it took to have your kids?

This is what concerns me though:

Critics say the couples are exploiting poor women in India - a country with an alarmingly high maternal death rate - by hiring them at a cut-rate cost to undergo the hardship, pain and risks of labor.

I don't see anything wrong with using a surrogate mother, but this I find questionable.

But it has an alarmingly high maternal death rate because of lack of medical care, which these ladies seem to be getting in overkill. And some women like to be pregnant, so it might not seem like such a hardship to them. And the rate doesn't sound that low to me -- probably proportionate to what a woman would make in the U.S. (although not equal at all). I think "exploiting" implies some helplessness on the women's part. I really have no way of knowing if that's true although the women quoted don't seem to see it that way.

LAWL @Steven

If they are coming from dire poverty with no opportunity to get out of that poverty except in ways that compromise their values, then yes, they are being exploited. If they weren't economically destitute, then how many of them would willingly be surrogate mothers? I think we had the same problem here with young, poor women were offering to be surrogates for money and I believe that some laws were passed to prevent such exploitation. Willingness by the participant doesn't dissolve the act of being exploited.

What is different about this than other acts people do to get out of poverty? Are prostitutes being exploited? Drug dealers? People with unpleasant jobs?

One example I can think of is people who participate in medical studies here in the U.S. I would say they're being exploited when the companies lie to them and don't provide adequate medical care. Here it doesn't seem that's the case.

[Cassie 8]

This was on Oprah a number of months ago.

Some people are very desperate to have children, and there are those that are willing to be surrogates. In this case, they live in India.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[quote name='Alex+R'

If they are coming from dire poverty with no opportunity to get out of that poverty except in ways that compromise their values, then yes, they are being exploited. If they weren't economically destitute, then how many of them would willingly be surrogate mothers? I think we had the same problem here with young, poor women were offering to be surrogates for money and I believe that some laws were passed to prevent such exploitation. Willingness by the participant doesn't dissolve the act of being exploited.

What is different about this than other acts people do to get out of poverty? Are prostitutes being exploited? Drug dealers? People with unpleasant jobs?

One example I can think of is people who participate in medical studies here in the U.S. I would say they're being exploited when the companies lie to them and don't provide adequate medical care. Here it doesn't seem that's the case.

It's a combination of dire poverty with no economic opportunities that, IMO, open a person up for exploitation even if they do so willingly. This is an ideological argument and Libertarians hold the position that if someone willingly enters into an agreement, then exploitation cannot exist. I wholeheartedly disagree.

I do take issue with people who willingly offer body organs, or sell their bodies in one way or another out of economic desperation.

[Ban Hammer 12,840]

It's a combination of dire poverty with no economic opportunities that, IMO, open a person up for exploitation even if they do so willingly. This is an ideological argument and Libertarians hold the position that if someone willingly enters into an agreement, then exploitation cannot exist. I wholeheartedly disagree.

I do take issue with people who willingly offer body organs, or sell their bodies in one way or another out of economic desperation.

i completely agree with you