Impact on Women

Before the meeting

Articles

(Read two or more)

Definitions:

Assisted Reproductive Technology:  a process that involves surgically removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries, combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and returning them to the woman’s body or donating them to another woman.   – Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

Third-Party Reproduction (or donor-assisted reproduction):  any human reproduction in which DNA or gestation is provided by a third-party or donor other than the one or two parents who will raise the resulting child.

Genetic Father – the male, who provided the sperm for fertilization and after birth, assumes the responsibilities of the child’s father,

Genetic Mother – the female providing the egg for fertilization and concurring, after birth, to assume the responsibilities of the mother,

Paternal Donor – the male, who provides the sperm for fertilization without intending to assume responsibilities of the father,

Maternal Donorthe female, who provides the egg for fertilization and does not intend to assume responsibilities of the mother,

Traditional Surrogatethe female of child-bearing age who provides her egg for fertilization and agrees to carry a child of the genetic father without intending to assume maternal responsibilities,

Gestational Carrier – a female of childbearing age who does not provide her egg, but agrees to carry a child from the genetic parents without intending to assume maternal responsibilities.

The Dark Side of Third-Party Reproduction

There are real consequences to artificial reproduction. Women who donate eggs face serious health risks now and in the future. The children of these techniques also face life-long consequences. 

Surrogacy, Love, and Flourishing

Surrogacy is dehumanizing to both birth mother and child, because it reduces them to commodities. By design, it denies mother and child what they need to flourish as human beings.

Expendable Mothers

Women are having babies and are being denied their motherhood.

Surrogate Future

A seemingly helpful cottage industry
born of science fiction is harming
women and threatening to redefine
the family.

Real Grownups Know No One Has the Right to a Child

Surrogate pregnancies are more risky than other pregnancies, and the only women who can carry these pregnancies by the laws of many countries are those who are already mothers and have children that depend on them. 

15 Reasons to Oppose Surrogacy

This provides a condensed and simplified list of reasons to oppose surrogacy, from the physical and mental health of the mother to the rights of the child. 

Videos

(Watch one or more)

Harms of Surrogacy

This video highlights the harms of surrogacy using clips from the film “Breeders: A Subclass of Women?” Full film with Spanish subtitles available here.

Vice on HBO

Lines in the Sand: Outsourcing Embryos

By exploring some of India’s 3,000 surrogacy clinics, watching doctors deliver surrogate babies, and following recruiters who find prospective surrogates in the slums, we see the true cost of outsourcing reproduction. (Begin watching at 14:30.)

American Public Media

Radium Girls: The Fight for Workplace Safety

Radium poisoning had never been observed or diagnosed before, and there was little hope for the “Radium Girls,” except to change the law that had killed them.

Supplemental articles

Surrogacy Documentary

The physical detriments women endure after selling their eggs. 

The Dangerous Effects of Surrogacy: A Review of a Transnational Feminist View of Surrogacy Biomarkets in India

Surrogate mothers are willing to abide by the rules imposed by the clinic and the intended parents in their desperation to bring their families out of poverty.

India Surrogate Mothers Talk of Pain of Giving up Baby

Understand surrogacy from the experiences of surrogate mothers.

Think Again: A Study Guide on the Legal, Medical, and Ethical Questions of Third Party Reproduction

A study guide focusing on egg donation, sperm donation, and surrogacy. 

Supplemental videos

The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network

#BigFertility: It’s All About the Money

Trailer for surragacy documentary. See full video on Youtube, here.

Surrogacy is fast becoming one of the major issues of the 21st century—celebrities and everyday people are increasingly using surrogates to build their families. But the practice is fraught with complex implications for women, children, and families.

The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network

Eggsploitation

Trailer for surrogacy documentary. See full video on YouTube, here.

The infertility industry has grown to a multi-billion dollar business. Its main commodity: human eggs. Young women all over the world are solicited by ads offering up to $100,000 for their donated eggs.

Talking Points

Resources to help you discuss with friends and family.

Social Media Resources

Share resources for families through social media.

Advocacy Tips

Get involved in your community and local governments to make a difference.

Next step: During the Meeting

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