Surrogacy is defined as a practice whereby a female agrees to carry to terms a pregnancy on behalf of another woman or couple. When a child is given birth to, a woman who carried the pregnancy to terms has to surrender the child to a woman or couple that procured her services of a surrogate (Dubey & Decherney, 2012). The surrogate can either be the genetic parent of a child- a practice that has been termed as traditional surrogacy or be genetically unrelated- a case referred to as gestational surrogacy. In genetic surrogacy, a woman is either naturally impregnated by a male person who in most cases is the father of the child or through artificial insemination. Gestational surrogacy requires that an already formed embryo be transferred in the womb of a surrogate mother. This paper discusses the practice of surrogacy in India with a view to determining the various ethical perspectives held by different sectors of the society.
A woman medical practitioner named Dr. Nayna Patel is credited with the surrogate practices in India. The practice is widespread in the state of Gujarat that is in the western side of India. Surrogate mothers from this rural town have over the years offered to carry to terms babies for their upcountry counterparts or foreigners who come in numbers so as to procure surrogate services in India (Schenker, 2011). The first surrogate pregnancy in India was practiced in the year 2003 when Dr. Nayna successful helped a woman based in the United Kingdom procure the services of her own mother as a surrogate. After successfully delivering twin babies, the practice has become common with a local woman from this poor state offering their wombs in exchange for money.
Different arguments have been advanced in relation to this practice of procured surrogacy with sharp and opposing views being propagated by different people. Compared to other western countries that practice the surrogacy, the surrogate practices in India are preferred since they are less costly (Woodruff, 2010). A surrogate service in the United States, for example, would cost one up to a maximum of 70,000 US dollars. The same service in India will cost an individual up to 12,000 US dollars. The cost covers the surrogate’s fee and all the medical expenses involved in the whole process. The disparity in the cost of procuring the same services in different countries has elicited much debate with some seeing it as an exploitation of the Indian women. There are also strict laws governing surrogacy in the United States requiring a person or couples who want to procure the services of a surrogate to meet certain strict requirements before they finally get a surrogate’s service. It is in contrast with the relaxed laws in India where there are loose laws that do not properly govern surrogacy leaving the practice in the hands of unscrupulous doctors and intermediaries who at times end up exploiting the surrogates.
The question that then arises is whether the practice that has gone on for a long time is ethical or not. Determining whether the practice is ethical or not depends on the determination of the various responsibilities that each and every section of the society has to play regarding surrogacy. Deducing answers to these questions start with interrogating the role played by the surrogates (Terman, 2010). Most surrogate women in India originate from the rural section of the society. This section of the society is argued to be characterized with traits bordering on abject poverty. The women’s principle reason for engaging in surrogacy, therefore, is to get some means of survival. Since most of the women in the rural areas, in India, practicing surrogacy languish in poverty, it is only fair that when the means of survival presents itself it be utilized by these women. The economic activities within these regions are limited and the government of the day is doing little to help the situation.
Either, most of the women within rural India are also illiterate thus complicating the situation as they have limited capacity to think of creative means so as to improve their economic conditions (Dubey & Decherney, 2012). Thus, they are only left with the only option that has presented itself which is surrogacy. Therefore, these women are ethically correct to engage in surrogacy as a means of earning a living. This ethical correctness is limited to their aim of wanting to improve their living condition which to their interpretation revolves around obtain financial profits. The question of their practice being ethical when looked at from a social perspective is also a matter whose discussion can go either way. Socially, traditions tend to guide people’s social life and relations.
Another issue that questions the surrogate’s ethical practices revolves around their health concerns. When a surrogate mother from a rural area in India engages in surrogacy then their health condition becomes an issue of discussion (Woodruff, 2010). The conditions under which these women live in especially, in Dr. Nayna’s hospital are wanting. The hospital is set in a rural place and the general environment of the hospital is in a bad state. The women, therefore, are forced to live under these poor conditions that are dangerous to their health. Ethically, these women are not justified to continue living under these conditions that are dangerous to their health for the sole purpose of getting money. They also neglect their responsibilities to their immediate families as they have to relocate and live at the surrogacy centers.
There is also the question of the ethical issues on the side of the Indian government. The sole purpose of government is to initiate laws and legislations that protect its citizens and at the same time provide necessary services to its citizens (Schenker, 2011). Governments in other regions have set up legislations that protect their citizens and gone further to provide the necessary basic services to them. The most notable cases where the government makes proper laws are the US legislations that govern surrogacy. The US government has initiated legislations that have guided the process of surrogacy. These laws have equally protected both the surrogate mothers and the couples or individuals who procure surrogate services. The couples or individuals procuring surrogate services are required by law to meet certain demands that will then allow them procure such services. The surrogates are also required to meet certain requirement in order to be allowed to practice a surrogacy. Their ability to act as a surrogate must also be determined with their willingness to be surrogates determined.
In India, the situation is much different. There are a number of relaxed laws that cannot effectively regulate the trade (Terman, 2010). This situation has left most Indian women to be manipulated by the agencies procuring their services. Either, individuals from western nations who do not want to follow due process when it comes to procuring the services of a surrogate have shifted their attention to procuring such services in India at cheaper prices. Therefore, the government is not ethical justified sitting back and let its citizens be manipulated and highly exploited by foreigners in the name of procuring the surrogacy services. They have a responsibility to initiate legislations and laws that should protect the citizens.
On the side of the medical practitioners, they have a responsibility to protect life as well as offer best services that are aimed at promoting lives (Dubey & Decherney, 2012). Practitioners in India have turned a blind eye on the core responsibility of promoting healthy ways of living and Doctors such as Nayna have resorted to exploiting rural women to achieve their means. Instead of highlighting the plight of these vulnerable women to other stakeholders, Dr. Nayna and the likes have decided to turn a blind eye and concentrated on building a building a business empire that exploits rural women. They have also taken a blind eye on the loose legislations and laws that do not properly regulate the practice of surrogacy. Therefore, their practices if not ethically correct bearing in mind that it is aimed at exploiting surrogate women.
References
Dubey, K. & Decherney, A. H. (2012). Infertility: Diagnosis, Management And IVF. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Pub.
Schenker, G. (2011). Ethical Dilemmas In Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Woodruff, K. (2010). Oncofertility: Ethical, Legal, Social, And Medical Perspectives. New York: Springer.
Teman, E. (2010). Birthing A Mother: The Surrogate Body And The Pregnant Self. Berkeley: University Of California Press.
