Views of Swedish Commissioning Parents Relating to the Exploitation Discourse in Using Transnational Surrogacy

Arvidsson, AnnaUppsala universitet,Internationell kvinno- och mödrahälsovård och migration,Internationell kvinno- och mödrahälsovård och migration/Essén (author)

Transnational surrogacy, when people travel abroad for reproduction with the help of a surrogate mother, is a heavily debated phenomenon. One of the most salient discourses on surrogacy is the one affirming that Westerners, in their quest for having a child, exploit poor women in countries such as India. As surrogacy within the Swedish health care system is not permitted, Swedish commissioning parents have used transnational surrogacy, and the majority has turned to India. This interview study aimed to explore how commissioning parents negotiate the present discourses on surrogacy. Findings from the study suggest that the commissioning parents' views on using surrogacy are influenced by competing discourses on surrogacy represented by media and surrogacy agencies. The use of this reproductive method resulted, then, in some ambiguity. Although commissioning parents defy the exploitation discourse by referring to what they have learnt about the surrogate mother's life situation and by pointing at the significant benefits for her, they still had a request for regulation of surrogacy in Sweden, to better protect all parties involved. This study, then, gives a complex view on surrogacy, where the commissioning parents simultaneously argue against the exploitation discourse but at the same time are uncertain if the surrogate mothers are well protected in the surrogacy arrangements. Their responses to the situation endorse the need for regulation both in Sweden and India.

Johnsdotter, SaraMalmö högskola,Institutionen för socialt arbete (SA),Department of Health and Welfare Studies, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden(Swepub:mau)hssajo (author)
Essén, Birgitta,1961-Uppsala universitet,Internationell kvinno- och mödrahälsovård och migration(Swepub:uu)bires412 (author)
Uppsala universitetInternationell kvinno- och mödrahälsovård och migration (creator_code:org_t)

By the author/editor: Arvidsson, Anna; Johnsdotter, Sar ...; Essén, Birgitta, ...

About the subject

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES: MEDICAL AND HEAL ...; and Clinical Medicin ...; and Obstetrics Gynae ...

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