The Point: Gloria Steinem, Feminists, and Surrogacy

I don’t often agree with Gloria Steinem, but I applaud her for a recent letter to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urging him to oppose the “Child-Parent Security Act,” a bill that would legalize commercial surrogacy in the state. While Ms. Steinem would likely not agree with me that surrogacy, in general, is a bad idea, here are a few of her arguments to the governor I fully endorse: “Women in economic need become commercialized vessels for rent, and the fetuses they carry become the property of others.” Surrogate are often “not warned about such side effects (from fertility drugs) as headaches, bloating, nausea, breast tenderness and an ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome that can vary from physical discomfort to life-threatening illnesses.” And of course, there’s trafficking, and the fact that anyone, even a pedophile, could enter into a surrogacy contract. Now, I’m sure Steinem will be taking heat from same-sex couples, who often are the driving force behind these laws. But she’s right. Ideas have consequences, bad ideas have victims.     Download mp3 audio here.   Image: Google Images

06/19/19