Wombs in Labor

Homework April 13th

Authors Argument:
Commercial surrogacy is a new form of female labor that has emerged alongside
globalization. She suggests that this form of labor blurs the lines between the
socially constructed boundaries between reproduction and production.

Major Points:
Historically, Indias government has monitored and regulated feminine
reproductive rights reproductive politics had high surveillance
Neo-Eugenics emerged when pro-natalist technologies enter a historically
anti-natalist culture
Sterilization efforts suggest that fertility of lower-class women should be
limited
Women in India are aware of their anti-natalist circumstances, contrary to
the fish in water example
Women are recruited to surrogacy through different circumstances some
actively choose to participate and others are exploited or forced into
surrogacy
Money is the main motive for women to engage in surrogacy
Women in more equitable relationships with their husbands generally had
more control over their surrogacy decisions
The perfect surrogate does not exist naturally, instead it is produced
through surrogate clinics and surrogacy hostels
Hard for women to find balance between being a good mother and good
worker
Religious and cultural images are used to help surrogates make sense of
their circumstances, often leading women to believe that they are
compelled to do this work in order to fulfill their familial responsibilities