Abstract
Feminist scholars have long debated the thorny question of whether or not to call for a ban on commercial surrogacy. A Marxist-feminist approach to frame commercial surrogacy as a unique form of “embodied labor” (Pande, 2014, p. 104) radically shifts this debate from a moralistic understanding of surrogacy by centralizing the role of structural inequalities that shape surrogates’ choices to do surrogacy work. This article argues, however, that the feminist call to frame surrogacy as work, along the lines of sex work and care work, is being co-opted by surrogacy stakeholders in powerful positions in India’s fertility market. I analyze the narratives of ten fertility clinics based in India, using in-depth interviews with fourteen fertility specialists, surrogacy agents, and intended parents, as well as analyzing the content of fertility clinics’ and surrogacy agencies’ websites and social media. This article shows how notions of “ethical surrogacy” and “compensatory surrogacy” have emerged as ways to prioritize the interests of fertility clinics and intended parents, rather than centralizing surrogates’ needs and concerns.
Recommended Citation
Daftuar, Annu
(2025)
"In the Aftermath of the 2015 Transnational Surrogacy Ban: Co-optation of Feminist Ideas in the Indian Surrogacy Market,"
Journal of International Women's Studies: Vol. 27:
Iss.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol27/iss1/7