At a clinic in Anand in northern India, women give birth to Western children. White women’s eggs are inseminated with white men’s sperm, and the embryo is implanted in the wombs of Indian women… After giving birth to the children, the Indian women surrender them. They sign a contract and receive between 2,500 and 6,500 USD the moment they give up responsibility for the child they just gave birth to. For the women, most of whom are poor and from nearby villages, the payment can be up to the equivalent of ten years’ salary. The buyers are typically American, European, Australian, Japanese or wealthy Indians
Source: Kasja Ekis Ekman, “Being and Being Bought”, 2013
In 2006 analysts estimated the value of the Indian surrogate industry at 449 million USD, due to its high potential for future growth.
Source: Kasja Ekis Ekman, “Being and Being Bought”, 2013
The egg provider may curse the sickness and discomfort caused by the drugs that often severely intefere with her daily life and work, but, if she is paid between $US5,000 and 10,000 (or more) per egg retrieval, as is customary in the USA, the prospect of good money will make her grit her teeth and ignore the pain.
Source: Renate Klein, “Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation”, 2017
A study of surrogate mothers in Anand, India, revealed that 50 percent were illiterate and that many could not read the contract that they were signing.
Source: European Women’s Lobby
Approximately 12,000 foreigners come to India each year to hire surrogates, many of them from the UK. The suroogacy trade is worth an estimated US$1billion or £690m a year in India. Surrogates are paid about £4,500 to rent their wombs at this particular clinic, a huge amount in a country where, in 2012, average monthly earnings stood at $215 and a fifth of people live below the national poverty line. Clinics can make up to £18,000 from commissioning parents.
Source: Guardian