"IVF has been around only since the 1970s, but the idea of one woman bearing a baby for another is as old as civilization. Surrogacy was regulated in the Code of Hammurabi, dating from 1800 B.C., and appears several times in the Hebrew Bible. In the 16th chapter of Genesis, the infertile Sarah gives her servant, Hagar, to her husband, Abraham, to bear a child for them. Later, Jacob fathers children by the maids of his wives Leah and Rachel, who raise them as their own. It is also possible to view the story of Jesus' birth as a case of surrogacy, mediated not by a lawyer but an angel, though in that instance the birth mother did raise the baby."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129594
OK. God is the "baby daddy," but Jesus couldn't have been born if the angel didn't negotiate Mafia-style and give Mary an offer she couldn't refuse. This just seems so WACK to me that it almost seems blasphemous to even discuss.
And the surrogacy thing in general... It isn't ok for women to rent their bodies for sex, but it's okie-dokie for baby-carrying without the sex? I mean, I *suppose* if one takes this to the furthest conclusion, we rent ourselves out whenever we take on a job, even if it's just a cashier at the local Wal-Mart. But talk about a job you're doing 24/7...
OK, I'm shutting up now because I really want to see what y'all have to say on this one. I think I'm more confused than I started when I read this article.
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Boy I don't know what I think. I have always thought that it was awful that those handmaidens had to give up their babies and be used by their "master".
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this is any different. Especially since it seems to benefit couples who have a lifestyle I don't agree with. Either way even if the child wasn't biologically mine I don't think I could just hand it over. At least without all kinds of emotional baggage afterwards.
Well here is my positioon and I may need the flame-proof shield now.
All very confusing!!
ReplyDeleteI think it's just wrong and weird. It's just turning women into cattle or robots. How can you carry a baby, go through all the ups and downs of pregnancy, struggle through child-birth and then say "Here, take it, it's not mine" and then walk off fanning yourself with your wad of cash. It's just de-humanizing.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin who lives in New York City did it. She works for Time-Warner and has a posh apartment in Manhattan. She and her husband are in their late 30's and decided they didn't want the hassle of her carrying the babies (they turned out to be twins) so they paid some woman to do it. Then, of course, they hired a nanny to watch them for 10 hours a day while they returned to work when the kids were 2 months old.
This is considered normal parenting today and it's weird and sad. Don't get me started on nannies either. Rich New Yorkers hire these women from Jamaica to watch their kids for 12 hours a day and pay them $10 an hour. Then they expect a bond with their kids that has never had a chance to form.
I can't say anything to my cousin though, I just tell her what I'm doing.