Criticize Elizabeth Anderson's Claim that the Autonomy of Women will Essay

Criticize Elizabeth Anderson's Claim that the Autonomy of Women will be Promoted by Banning Commercial Surrogacy Contracts - Essay Example If the intended mother has the ability to produce eggs that are fertile but is unable to carry the pregnancy then gestational surrogacy can be used. In this process, the egg of the intended mother would be removed and combined with that of the husband or a sperm from another man and finally implanted in the replacement mother. Surrogacy arrangements can be either altruistic or commercial. In altruistic surrogacy, the surrogate mother would be compensated for expenses incurred or sometimes not paid at all. On the other hand, the surrogate would be paid all expenses incurred during the entire period of the pregnancy plus a fee in commercial surrogacy. In this surrogacy, the surrogate mother and the adoptive parents come up with a commercial surrogacy contract that regulates their relationship for the entire period of the pregnancy. Criticism I disagree with Elizabeth Anderson’s claim that the autonomy of women would be promoted by banning commercial surrogacy contracts. As a mat ter of fact, commercial surrogacy has enabled many infertile couples in the entire world to have children. There exist few children for adoption and even the requirements for one to qualify as an adoptive parent are hard to meet. Therefore, commercial surrogacy remains the only hope for some individuals to get children and make up families. It is the only humane answer to the infertility problem. Infertility is extremely common in the world; it affects approximately one out of seven couples. This problem is likely to increase since more women are entering a time consuming workforce, and thus delay the process of giving birth to a later age when fertility challenges are exceedingly rampant (Richards 78). Consequently, adoption does not sufficiently meet the desires of infertile couples wishing to have a baby. There exist no biological link between the couple and the adopted baby; they would be forced to wait between three and seven years to adopt an infant. This has contributed to a call for another reproductive option. Moreover, abortion and the use of contraceptives have led to a serious shortage in the number of adoptable babies. If we follow Elizabeth Anderson’s argument, then we leave many infertile couples without children. Commercial surrogacy is not a practice of baby selling as Anderson argues. It is a contract to bear a child but not to sell the child. The payment to a surrogate is just a fee for the services just similar to the fees paid to doctors and lawyers for their services. The banning of commercial surrogacy will be infringing on ones constitutional right to engage into a contract freely. The society is always at peace when the liberty of its members becomes maximized. Women and the entire society benefit from the freedom of choice that would be offered through surrogacy. Since people would not be forced into the contract, they engage willingly; no one should attempt to stop them. In a rights based culture, commercial surrogacy contract s would be supported since every woman has the right to procreate. She also has the right to demand compensation for expenses incurred during the gestation period. All parties benefit in a surrogacy arrangement that is successful. The intended parents go home with a cherished child while the surrogate mother gets monetary reward for her work (Richards 71). The money the surrogate mot