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Today, we can find just about anything on the Internet, but how about a surrogate? And what if I told you that "outsourcing" surrogacy to India could save you $94,000? HBO's Google Baby, which premiered June 16 on HBO2, explores international surrogacy, egg donation and in-vitro fertilization through different perspectives. It peeks at a surrogacy clinic in India, follows a frozen embryo specialist in Israel (whose daughter was born through surrogacy) and interviews a U.S. mother of two who routinely donates her eggs to pay for home remodeling and "shiny guns."
What I found most interesting is that in India, surrogacy is considered by some to be on a par with prostitution. The surrogates hide out in the clinic throughout their pregnancy, telling family and friends they went away for work. The money they earn -- about $6,000, as opposed to about $100,000 in the U.S. -- allows them to purchase a home and save for their children's education. But while there are many advantages for these women, there's a strong emotional cord struck when the newborn baby they carried is immediately whisked away to the parents after birth. Plus, surrogates risk serious medical complications and even death by going through labor and delivery.
The documentary also presents the disconnect of international surrogacy. Parents simply show up when the baby's born (or days after) -- while surrogates who live close to the parents often develop a relationship with them. And at one point in the film, the idea of implanting embyos into two different women to increase the chances of fertilization is brought up -- and the potential parents don't seem to have a problem with it. Maybe being far away from the woman carrying the baby dehumanizes the situation a bit.
Would you "outsource" surrogacy to another country? Chime in below!
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