A Transnational Feminist View of Surrogacy Biomarkets in India

Springer Singapore (2018)
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Abstract

This book takes a reproductive justice approach to argue that surrogacy as practised in the contemporary neoliberal biomarkets crosses the humanitarian thresholds of feminism. Drawing on her ethnographic work with surrogate mothers, intended parents and medical practitioners in India, the author shows the dark connections between poverty, gender, human rights violations and indignity in the surrogacy market. In a developing country like India, bio-technologies therefore create reproductive objects of certain female bodies while promoting an image of reproductive liberation for others. India is a classic example for how far these biomarkets can exploit vulnerabilities for individual requirements in the garb of reproductive liberty. This critical book refers to a range of liberal, radical and postcolonial feminist frameworks on surrogacy, and questions the individual reproductive rights perspective as an approach to examine global surrogacy. It introduces ‘humanitarian feminism’ as an alternative concept to bridge feminist factions divided on contextual and ideological grounds. It hopes to build a global feminist solidarity drawing on a ‘reproductive justice’ approach by recognizing the histories of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, age and immigration oppression in all communities. This work is of interest to researchers and students of medical sociology and anthropology, gender studies, bioethics, and development studies.

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Chapters

Towards Humanitarian Assisted Conception

Roberts notes reproductive liberty must encompass not merely the individual women’s choice about how and when to have a child and to end her pregnancy, but should also include social justice. The notion of liberty allows an individual to choose procreation for oneself but without causing any harm to... see more

Transnational Feminism for Reproductive Justice

Assisted reproductive technologies have provided a wide range of choices and opportunities for people to have children using genetics of their choice . These technologies can also be used in ways that are harmful to communities with lower access to resources and power. An analytical framework using ... see more

The Postcolonial Paradox and Feminist Solidarity

Postcolonial feminists critique the universalization of women globally, for applying Western standards of emancipation on all women and describing non-western, women of colour as the “other”. However, this postcolonial dilemma resulted in a postcolonial anxiety that resorted to pluralism and fragmen... see more

Surrogacy Biomarkets in India: Stratified Reproduction and Intersectionality

Feminists have noted the ways in which certain power relations in stratified reproduction empower some people to nurture and reproduce while disempowering others . Transnational surrogacy in India reflects many of these inequities; disparities in gender, race, class, and location place some women’s ... see more

Situating India in the Globalscape of Inequalities

India became a popular global destination for assisted reproduction, supported by the Indian government. In the backdrop of this increasing popularity was ineffective governance, unregistered clinics, and a growing market that was embedded in socio-economic inequalities in India. This chapter review... see more

A Feminist Discourse on Surrogacy: Reproductive Rights and Justice Approach

Feminists have upheld the inclusion of reproductive rights such as using medical technologies for abortion, contraception and safe childbirth and these efforts need to be celebrated . However, in the last two decades, developments in reproductive technologies and its use for practices such as sex se... see more

Surrogacy Globalscape

The liberal feminist approach emphasizes that reproductive freedom is rooted in individual choice and autonomy. Assisted reproductive technologies are perceived as an ideal measure to solve infertility. Importance is given to individualistic anti-statist approach, aiming to provide free access to al... see more

Indian Surrogacy Biomarkets: An Introduction

By 2009–10, India had become one of the most popular destinations for third-party childbearing due to the lax surrogacy laws, high quality medical facilities, qualified English-speaking doctors and a surplus of women willing to offer their reproductive capacity for money. Stories of surrogacy as ban... see more

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Feminist perspectives on class and work.Ann Ferguson - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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