GS Blog #2
In
reading the course text "Globalization", we read an article Childbirth at the Global Crossroads, which
spoke about surrogacy primarily in India. This topic very much intrigues me as
it is something I never thought to much about until this class. It is also
something that after further analysis I feel strongly about. Surrogacy in India
as discussed in the article is popular among Indian women as it pays them more
than they would receive working another job. In the book it is discussed that
the average monthly income from an Indian male was $25 whereas a women who was
a surrogate would earn $3,600-$5,600 depending on whether the surrogate got
pregnant with twins or not. This is a significant increase in household income
of a typical Indian family. Women of consent then have to stay in the facility for
nine months and are not allowed to have any sexual relations with their
husbands until the baby has been born.
There seems to be a lot of controversy around this topic of whether surrogacy
should be band and/ or regulated ( it is in some states and countries). I think this topic is interesting because
before reading this I never knew that surrogacy was not permitted in certain
states/ countries. I have always thought of it as being a good thing and a
great alternative to women who cannot conceive children of their own. I disagree
with people who want to ban it, however agree there needs to be regulation to
make sure surrogates are being paid fairly and are being taken care of. Even with consent, it is not okay to take
advantage of these women and to not provide them with proper resources.
Connecting this to
globalization, the increase of globalization has allowed for countries to now
enter into bidding wars. Additionally, this connects and is similar with other
readings in this chapter about how globalization is leading women of 3rd
world countries to providing “care” services
to women of 1st world countries. For example, many Sri Lankan women
leave their families to go nanny an Australian couples child. This in turn is causing issues for the
children of the Sri Lankan women and depression is common among a lot of these children.
This is happening today, and is very much an issue. Families such as Sri Lankan
families are jeopardizing the sanity of their families in order to provide
monetary funds to their families. After
reading all the articles I am much more aware of these issues and see the
importance of why they need to be addressed. I am also being exposed to the
more negative sides of globalization.
I am curious as to why these topics don’t seem to come up
to often in everyday discussions. Is it okay for women of 3rd world
countries to be providing “care” services to 1st world countries? I
would love to gain more knowledge of regulations around surrogacy in different
countries and if they are truly being implemented or being swept under the rug.
This is something both the government and communities could work on and succeed
with an effective change.
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that surrogates should be well taken care of, especially those that sacrificed for someone they love. For instance, I happen to know an Indian couple who had been married for 12 years and were not able to conceive. Everyone in their family knows that this couple wanted to have a child. They've tried in vitro, which turned out a failure. Finally, the wife's unmarried sister was willing to become a surrogate for them. The couple was too excited about their future that they neglected the sister's. After the completion, the couple came home with a baby boy, while the younger sister went home to find out that her boyfriend had left her. Turns out, the boyfriend left because he claimed that the sister was no longer going to be the same. This goes to show how much surrogates had to sacrifice.
I understand surrogacy is something that pays incredibly well here in the United States as well, but under significantly different circumstances. With that said, I can't imagine that it would still be a walk in the park. Before reading this article, I too was in the dark about the fact that it was, in a way, an industry of its own. I'd be curious to know, on the note of regulations surrounding surrogacy in other countries, how bad some scenarios get if, for example, a group of people were holding women as hostages and forcing them to carry the children of clients. Some dark food for thought I suppose.
ReplyDelete