Around the world thousands of couples and singles procure babies through surrogacy arrangements. Many people see surrogacy as driven by compassion for those who desire a baby. But where is the compassion for the 'surrogate' mothers and their babies? Who are the faceless, nameless women who grow the babies in their bodies and give birth to them? Women who are left with empty arms and leaking breasts after delivery? The surrogacy industry calls them special angels who make miracles possible, giving an extraordinary gift. IVF clinics call them gestational surrogates. The intended parents have promised healthcare, full reimbursement of costs, extra income and ongoing contact with the baby. What could possibly go wrong? Everything. Because surrogacy violates the human rights of the women whose bodies are used, and the rights of children who are traded as commodities. Because it is a fundamentally flawed and misogynist concept to imagine that women are interchangeable. And it is wishful thinking that regulation can fix this. All surrogacy needs to be stopped. In this book, strong and courageous women from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Romania, Hungary, Georgia and Russia share their stories of becoming 'surrogate' mothers and egg 'donors'. Their accounts are tragic, shocking, and reveal a profit-driven industry that preys on desperation and womens kindness.
Jennifer Lahl is Founder and President of The Centre for Bioethics and Culture Network and Co-founder of Stop Surrogacy Now. She has recently completed a documentary film Kelly's Story (2018) as well as other films, Eggsploitation (2013) and Breeders (2015).
Melinda Tankard Reist is an author, speaker, media commentator, blogger and advocate for women and girls. She is best known for her work addressing sexualisation of girls, objectification of women, pornification of culture, sexual exploitation and trafficking and violence against women. Melinda is author/editor of five books with Spinifex Press. An opinion writer for a range of mainstream and online media (including ABC and SBS), Melinda is also a regular on morning television and has appeared on ABCs Q&A and The Gruen Sessions as well as many other TV and radio programs. Melinda is co-founder of the grassroots campaigning movement, Collective Shout: for a world free of exploitation, exposing corporations, advertisers and marketers who objectify women and sexualise girls to sell products and services. An ambassador for World Vision Australia, Compassion Australia and the Raise Foundation, Melinda is named in the Whos Who of Australian Women and the World Whos Who of Women.
Dr Renate Klein is a long-term women's health researcher and has written extensively on reproductive technologies and feminist theory over the last thirty years. A biologist and social scientist, she was Associate Professor on Women's Studies at Deakin University in Melbourne. She is the author of Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation (2017)
