Author links surrogacy with prostitution

#956 for broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 7 Sep 2014.

Swedish author Kajsa Ekis Ekman, the founder of Feminists Against Surrogacy, weighed in to  the debate in Australia, saying failure to enforce local laws banning commercial surrogacy encourages sexual abuse of children born through surrogacy.

Ekman’s book, Being and Being Bought, highlights parallels between surrogacy and prostitution.  She argues that commercial surrogacy leads to the trafficking of women and children.

“All these cases that are emerging now … show the problems that arise when children are something that you can order off the internet,” she said.

Meanwhile former Australian Family Court chief justice Alastair Nicholson said a “proper and urgent examination” was needed regarding measures that could be taken to protect children.

He called for background checks to be made of people returning to Australia with surrogate babies, to identify whether there was cause for concern about their capacity to responsibly look after a child.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.