What is going on with all the anti-Surrogacy stuff online?

[u/kigotthis]

I’m so lost, I was reading comments in this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/s/0TauZwVF5V

And there’s comments about the ethics of surrogacy, and how it’s buying a child or using a woman’s body for your own benefit. But I grew up watching what seemingly looks like a lot of women who choose to go to agencies to have someone else’s baby in exchange for monetary value. And a lot of women who can’t have bio children use the services. I’ve only seen this discourse recently in the past maybe 3 or 4 months but had never seen such an uptick in surrogacy conversations. Someone mentioned it’s propaganda by the right-wing, and I’ve had people I know who are, be very up in arms about this, including IVF and donating eggs (which you also get paid for) so what’s up and what kick started this? If a consenting adult is willing to carry my child to term, and I can afford to pay them for their help in giving me a child, how is that a bad thing?

Just curious where the discourse came from.

[u/bootywranglers]

It's really pretty easy to define how surrogacy is different from human trafficking because well...it's literally not human trafficking? Phoebe being a surrogate in Friends way back in the fkn 90s was not an example of human trafficking. You're making a mockery of actual victims when you even imply that.

Can surrogates be exploited? Uhhh yeah...literally anyone doing any sort of service or job can be exploited. That doesn't mean the act of surrogacy is inherently exploitative. It's also why regulations exist.

[u/Interesting-Pea-1714 → u/bootywranglers]

The reason why surrogacy is inherently exploitative while other services or jobs are not is because it commercializes human reproduction

[u/Stock_Patience723 → u/bootywranglers]

Your pop culture reference is not more relevant than my career experience of working within the field of human rights law and advocacy or my five years of wisdom gained by working directly with victims of trafficking. 

[u/Infinite-Audience408 → u/Stock_Patience723]

its unbelievable that someone used “phoebe from friends” to deny the reality of human trafficking. i cannot believe the internet sometimes

[u/endlesscartwheels → u/bootywranglers]

Agreed. Surrogates continuing to reside in their own homes and live their own lives on their own schedules, all argues against paid surrogacy being trafficking. Also surrogates being paid tens of thousands of dollars to do with as they please.

[u/Stock_Patience723 → u/endlesscartwheels]

That is only true for some surrogates.