How much is that baby in the window?

‘There have been a lot of recent articles on the expanding market for surrogate mothers, whether in developing countries or here at home. And, not unusually, the practice becomes at least somewhat established – if not fully established – before the commentary begins. Now the questions begin.’,’

Ellen Goodman has this piece in the Boston Globe. She writes:

It’s the commercialism that is troubling. Some things we cannot sell no matter how good “the deal.” We cannot, for example, sell ourselves into slavery. We cannot sell our children. But the surrogacy business comes perilously close to both of these. And international surrogacy tips the scales.

So, these borders we are crossing are not just geographic ones. They are ethical ones. Today the global economy sends everyone in search of the cheaper deal as if that were the single common good. But in the biological search, humanity is sacrificed to the economy and the person becomes the product. And, step by step, we come to a stunning place in our ancient creation story. It’s called the marketplace.

As I read her piece and revisited the ideas of all the new types of parent that have been created in the age of assisted reproductive technologies, I couldn’t help but wonder if next people will just hire someone else to raise their children until they’re ready for them. Granted, one could make the case that this already exists in some form. But I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t become more formalized in the future… Here’s the piece .