There has been so much “inappropriate behaviour” in the press over the past two months, ever since movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was exposed as a serial molester of women, that it deserves its own acronym, IB. IB is a euphemism for a range of appalling actions, like sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape.

And now, thanks to an Arizona Congressman we can add surrogacy to the IB list. Trent Franks resigned this week after revelations that he had pressured women on his staff to act as a surrogate mother. It’s not a pretty story, but it helps to expose the exploitative potential of surrogacy, which is so often depicted as generous and life-affirming.

Heads up: the next issue of BioEdge will be the last until January. Hey! Everyone deserves a holiday, even the staff of BioEdge. 

Michael Cook
Republican Congressman resigns after pressuring staffers to be surrogate mothers
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surrogacy

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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