WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE, INDIA AND SURROGACY!

Mark's Rocket Ship

For those of you who have followed our journey, Mark will be 5 on Tuesday and the twins will be 3 on December 20th.  Mark is a genius according to us, Elle runs our home and Alec has an A personality.  Well what does that say about us...for those of you who know us...you fill in the blanks.

I decided to write this post for many reasons.  One a number of you always email me asking when will you post, and secondly due to the climate of surrogacy in India at this time.  I really want to give a shout out to Dr. Patel because she always holds the mantle that eludes many when surrogacy in India is discussed.  For those of us who have traveled this road I can say that we are tired of the voices that have never traveled our journey to talk about exploitation of surrogates yet have no idea how many intended parents or better known as IPs have been exploited.  We do not ask for any one's sympathies because we all embark on this journey desperate and wholeheartedly hoping for a connection with the best of humanity.

Often I wonder to myself, what role do intended parents play in this story.  Is it fair to ask the doctors to house the surrogates for 8-9 months?  Are we paying the surrogates what the market will bare?  Are the doctors truly exploiting the surrogates? I am concerned when people open business and facilitate and have never even had a surrogate anywhere in the world.  The answer to these questions are a mixed bag.

I have openly stated that our surrogate was not housed for the entire period of time in Gujarat, because she did not need to be.  We were fortunate enough to have had a surrogate who worked in the medical field in India.  I personally do not feel that all surrogates need to be  housed, although I do work with doctors who do feel that the should be housed.  The problem comes into play if a doctor tells their intended parents that their surrogates are housed, when they are not.  I have intended parents tell me that they have worked with doctors and did undercover work on their own only to find that their surrogate was not being housed, however they were charged for housing.  If you are concerned about your surrogate not getting the payment that you think is fair then it is incumbent upon you to if at all possible to hand the surrogate extra funds privately.

What I know for sure is that there are good doctors in India that value what they do and love their job.  I have cried with doctors who work tirelessly to do the best that they can because they will not tell a client that they have had yet another negative.  Are there bad doctors in India?  Yes just like anywhere else in the world, however it is more pronounced when it is not regulated.  I am not saying anything that I have not already said before, the truth is that now more voices are finally seconding  the realities of what I and others have been saying for years.