Gender and the surrogacy industry in India: An analysis of exploitation in the production of a child.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss what moral and philosophical values determine the debate on surrogacy as well as to detect the racist, gender and class oppressive discourses that prevail the surrogacy industry and exploits the surrogates labour. The study examines gestational surrogacy, which is where a couple “rent” the womb of another woman to carry their child. This is a fast growing industry, especially in India, where surrogacy, according to a report from the Confederation of Indian Industry, is estimated to generate $2.3 billion this year.The study is divided into two parts. First, it looks at reproduction issues in Western society, where most clients in the surrogacy industry come from. Second, it focuses on the surrogate and the industry in India. The first part problematizes the way our society views reproduction and what stigmas surround the notion of the nuclear family and the “need” for a biological child. The study then examines why so many childless adults now choose to proceed with surrogacy, and why they do this in India, articulating practical issues as well as the discourses of race, colonialism, gender and class that become visible. The focus in India then lies on the surrogate as well as the role of the maternity clinic. The thesis explores the dichotomy that is articulated in the surrogacy industry where the surrogate is simultaneously viewed as an object, a womb with no feelings, and as a subject, a compassionate Madonna that is impossible to objectify.