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Surrogacy separates a mother and child, commodifying the human being as a good to be exchanged, instead of a person who has the right to be loved and raised by his or her natural mother and father (cf. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 7).

Taslima Nasreen, a Bangladeshi feminist author with a large Twitter following, calls surrogacy exploitation of poor women to feed the egos of wealthy couples.

“With this, we heartily agree,” said Ruth Institute President Dr Jennifer Roback Morse, PhD.

Nasreen, who describes herself as an “author, secular humanist, feminist, human rights defender, and physician,” criticised Hollywood power couple Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra (both singer/songwriters) who recently announced their new baby via surrogate. They did not specify the child’s genetic identity.

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Nasreen asked:

“How do these mothers feel when they get their readymade babies through surrogacy? Do they have the same feelings for the babies like the mothers who gave birth to the babies?”

“Surrogacy is possible because there are poor women” who will carry the burden of pregnancy and childbirth for the rich, Nasreen continued, calling this method “selfish” and “narcissistic.”

Morse added,

“The Ruth Institute has been saying this for years. We unconditionally oppose surrogacy, whether done by same-sex or opposite-sex couples, regardless of the status of the surrogate: family friend or total stranger whose womb is for hire. Surrogacy is exploitative and narcissistic.”

“The multi-million-dollar surrogacy industry is fraught with peril and largely unregulated. Many people uncritically accept the images of happy couples holding a ‘little stranger,’ literally.

“Such people don’t consider the consequences of separating the ‘genetic mother,’ meaning the woman whose egg was used, the ‘gestational mother’ who carries the child to term, and the legally recognised mother, who is generally the celebrity holding the baby in the photos.”

“In cases where the commissioning parents purchase an egg, surrogacy breaks the genetic bond between mother and child, depriving the child of any knowledge of his or her genetic identity. In all cases, surrogacy breaks the bond between the baby and the woman who carries him or her to term. Mothers normally bond with their babies during this crucial period.”

“Once the surrogate child is born and ‘delivered’ to the commissioning parents, the natural attachment between mother and child is severed forever. Someday, the child may live with the knowledge that he was conceived and carried to term as a favour or for money, what you might call a rent-a-womb arrangement.”

Nasreen tweeted,

“If you want to raise a child, adopt a homeless one.”

Morse agrees.

“The human person was meant for love. God loves every single person ever conceived by any method. But God’s will for humanity is that we cooperate with His love in bringing new life into the world.

“At the Ruth Institute, we believe it is no accident that human beings come into existence as the result of the marital embrace between the mother and father. To deny a child an uninterrupted relationship with the mother who both conceived and carried him or her, is to deny the child’s birthright, literally. Surrogacy is exploitative and narcissistic.”

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Originally published at The Ruth Institute. Photo by Jonathan Borba from Pexels.