The designer baby factoryWord文档格式.docx

The designer baby factoryWord文档格式.docx

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12GMT,4May2012|UPDATED:

20:

50GMT,31August2012

AboveacheapmobilephoneshopinachaoticstreetinnorthDelhi,thereisagrimyapartmentwhosepeelingwallsaredecoratedwithphotographsofadoringmothersnursingtheirbabies.

Thewomancooingatherchildinthebiggestportraitisbeautiful,whiteandaffluent-looking—instarkcontrasttotheflat’sfiveresidents,fourofwhomarepregnant,whiletheotherisbeingpumpedfullofhormonesinthehopeshewillsoonconceive. 

Theyarealluneducated,bare-footed,dirt-poorIndianwomenfromoutlyingvillages—andgiventheemotionalturmoilthatawaitsthem,onewouldhavethoughttheverylastthingtheywouldwishtodoisspendtheirenforcedninemonthsofconfinementheregazinguponimagesofmaternalbliss.

Baby-makingfactory:

Juliewearinggreenscarf,pinkandwhiteskirt）,Pakhi（inpink）,Rehana（greenwithbabyonlap）,Nazma（darkcolouredsari）,andRahima（greendress,rustcolouredshawl

Nominally,thisforlornplaceisacarehomeforsurrogatemothers—atleastthatishowitisdescribedbythecompanythatrunsit,WyzaxSurrogacyConsultancy,whichiscashinginonIndia’sboomingnewbabies-for-salebusiness.

Itboastsofbeingthecountry’sfirst‘one-stopshopforoutsourcedpregnancy’.Intruth,though,itisnothinglessthanababyfactory;

theendofagrimproductionlineonwhichchildrenarebeingdesignedtoorderforwealthycouples,mainlyfromWesterncountriesincludingBritain,asiftheywerecustom-builtcars.

Indeed,asIhavediscoveredduringaneye-openingthree-weekinvestigationintoIndia’sburgeoning,billion-dollarsurrogacyindustry,themotor-manufacturinganalogyisalltooapt.

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CoronerblastshospitalstaffoverbabyboywhodiedafterhewassenthomefromhospitalTHREEtimes

Forunderanastonishing—andmanywillthinknightmarishlyfuturistic—programmedevisedtomakethemostefficientuseofresources,or‘optimise’theirbabyproducingsystem,astheyputit,Wyzaxandtheirpartneragenciesnowsourceandassemblethe‘components’ofsomebabiesinavarietyofdifferentcountriesbeforeflyingtheresultingembryotoIndiatobeimplantedinthesurrogate.

AccordingtotheDelhi-basedagency’swhizz-kidyoungbosses,VivekKohliandJagatjeetSingh,theydothisforasmallbutgrowingnumberofclients—about15percent—who,forvariousreasons,don’twishtouseIndianeggsoranIndianfertilityclinic,orevensetfootinIndiauntiltheytakedeliveryofthebabytheyhaveordered.

Justajob:

Theleafletthatisgiventoprospectivesurrogatemothers-thecompanyWyzaxensuresthechildbearersdon'

tbecometooattachedthough

Foralltheirapparentdesperationtostartfamilies,thesesocalled‘IPs’,orintendedparents,havealsobecomeever-moredemandingintheirspecifications;

manywantbabieswhoemanatefromagenepoolwhichmaximisesthepossibilitythattheywillnotonlyresemblethembuthave,say,blondhairandblueeyes（andhopefullybeattractive,sportyandintelligentintothebargain）.

KohliandSinghhavethereforedeviseda‘protocol’thatworksroughlylikethis:

aftercarefulscreeningforgeneticillnessesandanIQtest,attractiveyoungfemaleeggdonorsfromcountriessuchasUkraine,Lithuania,Georgia,ArmeniaandBelarusareadvertisedinanonlinecatalogueforprospectiveparentstobrowse.

InEasternEurope,therearealltoomanyhard-upwomenwillingtoendurefertilitytreatment,alongflighttoCaliforniaorBoston,andanuncomfortableoperationunderanaesthetictoselltheireggsforupto£

750abatch.

Andashumaneggscannotbefrozenandtransported,andtherearefewsurrogacyclinicsorwombsavailableforrentinEasternEurope,thesedonorstravel,attheheightoftheirmonthlycycle,totheUnitedStates,wheretheeggsareextractedandfertilisedwiththefather’ssperm（whichcanbetransported,frozen,fromhiscountryofresidence,andstoredindefinitely）.

Lesbiancouplesorcoupleswherethemalepartnerisinfertilecanusedonorsperm,whichiswidelyavailableinAmericaandsomeEuropeancountries.

AnotheradvantageofcreatingbabiesinaU.S.laboratoryisthatmanycoupleshaveapreferenceforgender,andthe‘sexing’oftest-tubebabiesispermittedinsomestatesthere.ItisbannedinIndia,wherethepreferenceforsonsdrivesmanytofemaleinfanticide.

FewAmericanwomenarewillingtoactassurrogates—atleastnotcheaply—butimpoverishedIndianwomenareliterallyqueuingupoutsidesurrogacyclinicsthesedays.Itischeapertohireawombherethananywhereelseintheworld,henceitsdubiousplaceatthecentreofthesci-fi-style‘globalbaby’boom.

Oncecreated,theembryosarefrozentominus196c,placedinliquidnitrogencanistersresemblingsmallmilk-churns,thenflown8,000milesfromtheU.S.tocitiessuchasDelhiandBombay,wheretheyareimplanted.

Here,though,thecomparisontoacarproductionlineends.AsIsawwhenvisitingthe‘babyfactory’,thewomenwhoincubateandhatchtheseidentikitchildrenwouldbebettercomparedtobroodmares.

ThisisaDelhibasedsurrogacyconsultancythatimportsfrozenembryosproducedfromeggdonorsandspermindifferentpartsoftheworld

Moneytalks:

WealthyWesternersareturningtosurrogatemothers,andimportantlyeggsfrombeautifulEuropeans

Theyaresodesperatetofeed,clotheandeducatetheirownfamiliesthattheyarepreparedtoriskbeingshunnedbytheirhusbandsandcommunitiesforafeeofupto£

4,000;

anamounttheywouldn’tearnintenyearsworkingintheirtraditionaljobsasdomesticservants.Alltheyneeddotoreapthisvastsum—orsotheseoftenilliteratesoulsaretoldwhentheymakeagreementsoftenputtogetherbyshadyfixers—istoliearoundwatchingTVallday,eatingnutritiousfoodtheywouldneverordinarilybeabletoafford,andbedosedwithvitaminsandhormones.

Oh,yes,andtheymusthandovertheirwhite,blue-eyedbabies（oftendeliveredprematurelybyCaesareansectiontominimisetheriskofperinatalcomplications）withoutsomuchasone,briefpartingcuddle—toensurethereisnodangerofthembonding.

Howdoesitfeeltobecarryingachilddestinedtoberemovedfromherandhandedtoaforeigncoupleshewillnevermeet,Iask25-year-oldsurrogatePakhi,whosemucholderhusbandrecentlydiedofaheartattack,leavinghertocarefortheirfive-year-olddaughterinpenury.

‘Ihaven’ttoldmyneighboursinthevillage,onlymyclosefamilyknow,’shesays,grinningwithembarrassment.‘ItrynottothinkaboutwhosebabyI’mhaving.IfIseethebabyIthinkI’llbesad,butifIdon’tseeit,IthinkIwon’t.’

Anincreasingproportionofclientsaregaycouples 

Uneasywithheranswer,oneoftheagencystaffinterjectssnappily.‘I’mtellingyou—theyarenotverymuchemotionallyattachedwiththebabies.Theyarementallypreparedandthey’llgettheirmoney,andthat’sit.’

Likeallthemajorplayersinthelucrativesurrogacyindustry—thefertilitygurus,recruitmentagents,andeggdonorcompanies—WyzaxisflourishingforavarietyofreasonsthatmakeIndiathedestinationofchoiceformanydesperatewesterncouples.

WhereascommercialsurrogacyisillegalinmostEuropeancountries,includingBritain,inIndiaitisnotonlypermittedbuttacitlyencouragedandregulatedonlybyanill-enforcedcodeofpractice,notbylaw.Anewsurrogacybillisbeingdiscussed,butisyearsawayfromthestatutebooks.

Startingatjust£

15,000,packagepricesforababyherearealsouptofivetimescheaperthanintheUnitedStates.

Anincreasingproportionofclientsaregaycouples—thoughashomosexualitywasonlyrecentlydecriminalisedinIndia,andremainswidelytaboo,IwasurgednottotellthesurrogatesImetthattheymightbecarryingbabiesforsame-sexparents.

Duringmyvisittothe‘factory’,however,thesheerconfusionthatcanoccurwhenbabiesarecreatedandboughtondemandbecamefarcicallyapparent.

Allchange:

TheartofconceivinghasbeentakentoanewlevelnowwiththeIndianbaby-makingfactory

AsIspoketoRahima,whoisstayingtherewithherchildren,agedtwoandthreemonths,shetoldmehowshewasrecentlyintroducedtotheIsraelifatherofthetwinssheisexpecting.Infact,Ilaterdiscovered,thismanwasaTelAvivagencybossvisitingthe‘factory’.

WyzaxbossestoldmetheyhaddiscussedapossiblepartnershipdealwithBournHall,theworld-renowned,Cambridge-basedfertilitycentrewhereIVFpioneersPatrickSteptoeandRobertEdwardscreatedtheworld’sfirsttest-tubebaby,LouiseBrown,in1978.

AlthoughtheclinichasrecentlyopenedtwobranchesinIndiawhichoffersurrogacy,aspokeswomancategoricallydeniedtheyhadanyinvolvementwiththisso-called‘one-stopshop’.

BournHallsaysitsnewclinicswillservechildlessIndians,notforeigners,anddoubtlesstheywillberuntoitsexactingmoralandethicalstandards;

wouldthatthesamecouldbesaidforallIndia’ssurrogacypractitioners.

Duringmyinquiriesamongcompanieswhooffersuchservices,Iuncoveredsomedeeplydisquietingpractices,suchastheterminationofunwantedpregnanciesthatcanoccurwhenclientspayapremiumformultipleembryostobeimplantedtomaximisethechancesofconception.Iftoomanyembryosdevelop,somearethenselectivelyterminated.

Euphemistically,theIndianscallthis‘reduction’.Manywouldcallitabortion,eventhoughittakesplaceonlyacoupleofweeksintothepregnancy. 

Iwasalsotoldhowimp