The designer baby factory.docx
《The designer baby factory.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《The designer baby factory.docx(10页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
Thedesignerbabyfactory
Thedesignerbabyfactory:
EggsfrombeautifulEasternEuropeans,spermfromwealthyWesternersandembryosimplantedindesperatewomen
ByDavidJones
PUBLISHED:
21:
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.
More...
∙'Heshouldhavebeensaved:
'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