War in Ukraine exposes surrogacy’s dehumanization and commodification of children

Mar 16, 2022 by Jill

by Laura Nicole, LifeSite:

With Russia’s assault on Ukraine, and civilians fleeing at rates not seen since the Second World War, the situation has also sadly shown how Ukraine’s surrogacy industry puts babies at risk.

An article in The Atlantic, written to highlight the plight of surrogate mothers in wartime, shows how the practice of surrogacy results in the commodification of children. In this relationship, where babies are treated as products, surrogates are required to fulfill their contract even in extreme circumstances.

“The reality is that the interests of the surrogate and the interests of the parents don’t always align. War just makes it that much more stark,” the author notes.

Ukraine is the second-most popular location for surrogacy for foreign couples. As such, an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 babies are born to surrogate mothers per year in Ukraine.

The surrogacy industry in the country frequently promises above-average pay for surrogates — as much as three times more than the average national yearly salary — and guaranteed housing.

In wartime Ukraine, the baby of a surrogate remains a commodity that the parents are paying for, and the surrogate mother is a means to an end. The Atlantic story highlights the tendency to focus on the stress of the parents who “ordered” the baby; their preferences and desires take center stage.

“We cannot have the surrogate in any danger,” said Susan Kersch-Kibler, founder of a surrogacy organization, according to The Atlantic piece. “And whether they consider it danger or not, if the parents consider it danger, they’re going to be stressed out of their minds. And I don’t want that to spill over to the surrogate.”

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