WANTED: stable and intelligent young mother, preferably caucasian origin, for interesting and unusual job on nine-month fixed-term contract. must be prepared to be on call for 24-hours a day, 7-days a week for the duration of their contract. They must be prepared to submit to thorough-going medical and psychological testing, in own time. Some risks to health may be involved.
The hourly rate for this job is approximately £1, payable only on completion of contract, from which the applicant must make her own provisions for tax and inpayments. Any cumstances which result in the applicant's failure to complete her contract automatically to loss of all payNot a very attractive-sounding job description is it? But if Britain's first surrogate parenting agency advertised for its potential mothers in the local "jobs vacant' column, that's just how it would sound.
The birth of what is claimed to be 'Britain's first surrogate baby' lead to a storm of righteous protest the would-be guardians moral values. Kenneth Clarke, Tory health minister, summed it up thus: "The involvement of a commercial agency is generally seen as extremely tasteless, and I personally object to a woman leasing out a womb.'. Tory government is widely reported to be considering emergency legislation on surrogate motherhood.
In the few weeks since Baby Cotton's birth, there have been no end of experts pontificating on the subject. Few have dealt honestly — or even directly - with the real issues involved.
Dame Mary Warnock, ticipating the controversy, has this to say in her report on the Enquiry into outtart Fertilization bryology: '...the weight of public opinion is against the practice. jections turn essentially on the view that to introduce a third party into the process of procreation which should be confined to the loving partnership between two people is an attack on the value of the marital relationship.
'Further the instrusion Is than in the case of AID (artificial insemnation by a donor) since the contribution of the carrying mother is greater, more intimate and personal, has of The anEmThe obWOlSC What are we going to do about the babies?
Surrogate motherhood: Private Eye get right the Tories' real moral values I'll put VAT on them ability to pay.
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surrogacy feminists. another.
mentioned In arguments The process used by such agencies is that the receiving father donates his sperm by artificial insemnation of the mother, who is the egg donor. This is tried twice a month for six months after which period, if the surrogate mother has failed to conceive, she is dropped from the agen books without payment There are many restrictions on her ac tivity: a period of time during which she can't have sex (to ensure the sperm donor is the father of the child), no alcohol, no smoking, and Susan Ince's experience shows clearly that the arrangement made by surrogate agencies is no different to hiring a temporary typist or any other casual the demands on the surrogate mother are a hundred times greater.
It is a strictly financial arrange ment. Need is fulfilled according to Receiving parents are inevitably wealthy, described by the agencies as 'in the upper middle class Baby Cotton's receiving parents for example were described a having a house in the town and in the From the point of view of exploitation, it is more than clear that through commercia agency is undesirable. But other ques tions are raised for socialists and The idea of surrogacy as an agree. ment between equal and consenting people, an agreement by one womar to provide a child for another who i unable to bear her own , is one thing Surrogacy in a capitalist society Throughout her experience Susar Ince dealt with men: psychiatrists lawyers, the other 'contracting part ner', the father. It was regarded a 'natural' that men should organis this transaction as any other. The rol of the receiving mother was minimal Susan's anonymity was assured (even had she wanted that) The father was given details of Susan including the town where she lived And the birth certificate gave him he name and address. In fact Susan wa encouraged to contact the father: t let him know the pregnancy test wa positive, to send tapes of the baby' heartbeat. Never was the mother eve Pundits the current th of exponents and pro taganists alike emphasise the impo tance of the nuclear family, and wit it the control of men over women bodies. This is a second issue raised b surrogate parenting agencies.
Of course we must favour the us