Category Archives: Assignment 1

The question of surrogacy is definitely a controversial subject. From reading this article: The Curious Lives of Surrogates from Newsweek (from the year 2008) you really get a different take on the act of women carrying babies for other people who couldn’t or wouldn’t have their own children. What I mean by a different take is that it is very different from the article and movie about surrogacy that we saw in class on the Baby M case. According to the Newsweek article, the whole process between the surrogate mother and the married couple who want a baby goes smoothly and as planned.

From reading this article, you get the notion that surrogacy is an everyday transaction and is very common in our society. The article states that in the past five years, Texas, Illinois, Utah and Florida have passed laws legalizing surrogacy. It also says that more than a dozen states, which include Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and most notably, California, not only legalize surrogacy but regulate the practice.

What I found interesting is that this has all come out because of the Baby M case. Almost all surrogacy agreements now state that the woman who carries the baby cannot also donate the egg. This seems a logical outcome to the Baby M case as there was so much turmoil and extreme emotion over that situation, because the surrogate mother wanted to keep the baby.

In looking at the positive side to surrogacy one surrogate mother from this article said, “Some people can be successful in a major career, but I thought I did not want to go through this life meaning nothing, and I want to do something substantial for someone else”. The conditions of surrogacy, seems to have changed for the better.

According to diary of Florence Hobson, it showed that how both surrogate mother and couples cope with the situation during the surrogacy period.  The reason I chose that story because, while I was reading this story I found the contrast between Florence and Mary Beth Whitehead surrogacy behavior. As a Surrogate mother, Florence was well prepared and she knew what she is going to do? She was always ready for next step. Unlike Mary Beth Whitehead, Florence main intension was to help those couple who are unable to carry baby, due to have whether their medical, social, or genetic reason. She didn’t desire to keep any of children after their birth. In advance she was always ready to cope with the situation and emotion. When it comes about risking of surrogacy, based on Florence story we can see that surrogate mother always go through with all kinds of health complication, however it also showed that couple who are desiring for baby, they also go through with many more stresses.  For example: During surrogacy pregnancy, couple also keep themselves involve with every step of surrogate mother, such as doctor visit, labor time and so on. Florence stated in her story, “I was admitted for a cesarean section. The mom was by side crying and dad was in the scrub room videotaping”. So it gives an example that those couples with desiring baby also share their both sorrow and joyful moment with surrogate mother.

In conclusion, it showed clear that as a mother, Florence Hobson can be describe as a successful fit mother. She is a mother who is able to create a strong bond in the relationship.  She is aware of every of her decision and psychologically she is able to cope with her emotion and morality. Now Florence feel fortunate about herself of being a surrogate mother.

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.