Monthly Archives: July 2011

Surrogacy in India

Rent-a-womb: Outsourcing Surrogacy in India

This is a fascinating video about how far some women would go to make ends meet. Women in India are renting their wombs to western women who can’t bear children. These Indian women are inserted with embryos, which they carry full term under contract and get paid for up to $7000, which is five times less than they would pay back home.

This industry is a huge one in India as many poor women are turning to it for the money. I am not mad at these westerners who would go to great extenses to have children, but I feel bad for the surrogate women. I don’t think they know what they are exposing themselves to. I don’t think the need of money should drive women to rent their wombs, I think it’s just a immoral thing to do, eventhough it gives infirtile women a chance to
become mothers. I think that everything happens for a reason, so if God decides that a woman shouldn’t have children, then I don’t think they should force it. These women should consider adoption before they decide to rent other women’s wombs. This is science and medicine gone too far.

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who gets a branch on the family tree

In the article “Who’s on the Family Tree? Now It’s Complicated” of New York Times, the author explains that having children by using donor’s sperm makes the relationship between people and the family tree become more complicated in our society.  Moreover, can cause pains to kids in an unexpected way.  Jennifer Williams helps her sister Laura Ashmore to have a baby girl named Mallory with donor’s sperm because Ashmore and her husband cannot conceive a child.  At that time, she lives with her lesbian partner and already has a biological son, Jamison who also is conceived through a sperm donor.  After Mallory is born, the sister’s lives become more complex.  They both wonder where Mallory should sit on their family tree and how she can call for Jennifer.  Even though they all agree that Jennifer is Mallory’s aunt, Jennifer’s son Jamison sometime still mentions Mallory as his sister at home.   Therefore, there is no space for the sperm donors in Ashmore’s family tree.  In contrast, Sue Stuever Battel and Bob Battel include their four children in their family tree even though only one of four is conceived naturally.  Actually, they conceive one with a sperm donor and adopt two toddler boys.   They also outline the life of their children’s birth parents as baby books for their four kids.  On the other hand, Rob Okun as a sperm donator of a lesbian couple, Patria Kogut and Lynne Dahlborg keeps
connection with each other.  Interestingly, he even includes the children who born with his donated sperm in his own family tree after his mother die.

This article is related to our class because it also describes the family relation and kin connection when the construction of families is through donor insemination.  In our class, we have discussed that the different experiences of many couples construct their families by using sperm donors or adoptions.   Some of them believe that kinship is more like a process in which is revealed to be social constructions.   We also discussed about that it could be a bad influence on the children’s behavior and character development if they know their true origins.

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Lesbian Partners Find The Means to Be Parents

There are many forms of family. In the decades since adoption practices have changed significantly, and adoption has become a way for increasingly various populations to form families. In a New York Time article, talks about lesbians choose to have their own babies mostly by artificial insemination. Also, lawyers are involved to make custody agreements to insure legal rights of lesbian mothers.

Some lesbians have previous marriage histories before they have become homosexuals.  The article indicates that there is not enough evidence to show whether children rise by homosexuals parents could lead to other problems. However, some clinicians predict that some children who are raised by homosexuals may have difficulty in intimate relationships with opposite sex.

Dr. Callahan, a psychologist pinpoints the concern of many lesbian parents that their children will be victims of prejudice against homosexual people. Yet, this concern did not prevent many lesbian women from having their own children.

This article is related to this class because it shows homosexual families’ parent-child relationship and kin connection. Also, it reveals the construction of implied (racial and cultural) bio-genetic links between donor-conceived children and co-mothers, and to co-mothers’ extended families. In the class we also discuss about the new reproductive technologies has raised important questions about the psychological consequences for children as well as family relationships and the social and emotional development of children. In addition, questions about whether not to share the circumstances of the child’s conception with their child.  If it is necessary for the child to know the truth about how he/she came to be part of his/her family.

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Midwife vs. Hospital Birth

In a recent New York Times article, they chronicled the debate over wether or not pregnancy related deaths are actually increasing or not and the causes that may underly the change. They went on to state that statistics from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention show an increase in mortality rate, yet an Ob/Gyn claimed that data showed it has decreased in the past few years. This discrepancy is troublesome. With such an important issue at hand, it is alarming that there lacks concrete data and analysis on the subject of mortality rates in pregnancy. It was even more disappointing to see the focus of both the midwife advocate and hospital birth advocate attacking eachother over numbers and practices, rather than focusing on the pressing issue at hand. If they both claim to have the mother’s and baby’s safety as their main concern, why was there little mention of it. Because the process of giving birth is essential to society and the world we live in, this is an issue that should be resolved. Pregnant women are confused enough by the bombardment of precautions, products and activities that the one thing they should not have to think about is their safety while giving birth. Knowing your caregiver has your own best interest in mind will make one’s birthing experience more enjoyable than any music, medication or breathing excercises. This article is relavent to this class because it shows the controversy that technology has caused in relation to the delivery process and the important of continued exploration into the issues surrounding it.

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