Surrogacy in Nepal
Israeli medic cradling baby of surrogate mother
Same-sex marriage doesn’t really fall into the bioethics basket. However, the recent earthquakes in Nepal brought to light a link to the biggest social policy debate in the United States and Ireland at the moment.
Kathmandu, it turns out, became a surrogacy hub after India and Thailand imposed restrictions on this racket. According to one clinic operating there, it is a very attractive destination: “Surrogacy in Nepal is very affordable and recommended for same-sex couple like gays and lesbians, for singles and even married couple who are unable to take the chance of surrogacy in India.”
So poor women are renting out their wombs so that gay couples can take babies home. A number of babies commissioned by gay Israelis were airlifted out of the ruins of Kathmandu back to Tel Aviv on a defence force aircraft – but not the mothers.
It’s an angle that the justices in far-off Washington will probably not consider, but it deserves to be mentioned: if same-sex marriage is legalised, how will gay couples get children? Will it be by exploiting women in places like Nepal?
Michael Cook
What about the mothers?
1431344940
surrogacy
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
Georgia will shut down its commercial surrogacy industry in 2024
The war in Ukraine is changing the geography of commercial surrogacy. Before the war, Ukraine was the surrogacy capital of...
Canada’s surrogacy industry has a seedy side
Commercial surrogacy is a many-faceted problem, ethically, medically, and politically. One feature which seldom surfaces in sanitised accounts of surrogacy...
Greece rocked by surrogacy scandal
Greece is one of the few countries where commercial surrogacy is legal for international clients. But the country has been...
The dark down-side of California surrogacy
California has become a haven for commercial surrogacy. One of its attractions is that the commissioning parents, in effect, “own”...
Georgia to ban international surrogacy
The government of Georgia is planning to ban commercial surrogacy for foreign couples after 2023. A draft law would permit...
Is surrogacy a way of combatting ‘compulsory familialism’?
For people on either side of the debate, surrogacy can seem like a black-and-white issue. Opponents stress human dignity; supporters...