‘Baby bump’, considered a metaphor for pregnancy, but is synonymous to surrogate women that their identity is never remembered. Surrogacy has become the other mask of the medical tourism flourishing in many district towns of Andhra Pradesh.
The concept of surrogacy (technically ‘Assisted Reproductive Technologies’) has many facets. It is taboo to discuss for the conservative circles, a cash cow for the fertility industry comprising agents and the clinics taking up In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), but finally, it is a source of inexplicable pain and harassment for the target women.
The wish of the privileged to have baby as per their choice often takes a toll on the poorer women in the society’s underbelly. ‘Can we see the baby bump please?’ a 41-minute-film directed by Surabhi Sharma, highlights the concealed side of ‘medical tourism’, a refined term for commercial surrogacy. The film also captures the mood of the women going for ‘reproductive labour’ in tune with the wish of the couples engaging their services. This is the first screening in Andhra Pradesh, while it has already been shown in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, apart from USA, Germany and Sri Lanka.
“Domestic hands are the common target groups, as the ‘carriers’ are required to be from the poorer sections in need of money, but not physically too weak,” explain Anindita and Simran of ‘Sama’, the Delhi-based resource group for women and health that arranged the film screening. Sama demands an organized system in place and effective monitoring mechanism to ensure the health and rights of the women getting into surrogacy.
Sources: http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/2015-04-13/Campaign-against-Surrogacy-in-garb-of-Medical-tourism-143932
The concept of surrogacy (technically ‘Assisted Reproductive Technologies’) has many facets. It is taboo to discuss for the conservative circles, a cash cow for the fertility industry comprising agents and the clinics taking up In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), but finally, it is a source of inexplicable pain and harassment for the target women.
The wish of the privileged to have baby as per their choice often takes a toll on the poorer women in the society’s underbelly. ‘Can we see the baby bump please?’ a 41-minute-film directed by Surabhi Sharma, highlights the concealed side of ‘medical tourism’, a refined term for commercial surrogacy. The film also captures the mood of the women going for ‘reproductive labour’ in tune with the wish of the couples engaging their services. This is the first screening in Andhra Pradesh, while it has already been shown in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, apart from USA, Germany and Sri Lanka.
“Domestic hands are the common target groups, as the ‘carriers’ are required to be from the poorer sections in need of money, but not physically too weak,” explain Anindita and Simran of ‘Sama’, the Delhi-based resource group for women and health that arranged the film screening. Sama demands an organized system in place and effective monitoring mechanism to ensure the health and rights of the women getting into surrogacy.
Sources: http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/2015-04-13/Campaign-against-Surrogacy-in-garb-of-Medical-tourism-143932
Mumbai (Bombay) Time
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