Strange Foes: Traditional 'Feminist' Condemnation of Surrogacy
drunk drivers; in some court cases, a defendant will enter into a plea bargain despite their innocence just to be done with it. The list of situations in which some abuse of power MIGHT occur is endless. For that matter, should I not be allowed to have my part-time job as a cashier simply because, to be 100% honest, I'm financially compelled to hold it? Because a uterus is involved, though, things apparently get very murky for many feminists.
Yes, there is a potential for abuse, but I do not believe that instantly negates any benefit of surrogacy. To go back to the more commonly argued issue of "reproductive rights" embraced by traditional feminism - abortion - is there no potential for abuse there? I know of cases where women have had an abortion because that's what their partner wanted, coerced, or forced them to do. These cases are most likely rare, and very very wrong, but they do occur; however, I would not use this as a sweeping condemnation against abortion itself. Nor do the feminists. So why should the question of surrogacy and reproductive rights get such different treatment?
I still do not understand this, and I probably never will. And as strongly as I agree with several of their principles, I don't imagine I will ever consider myself a "feminist." Personally, I believe too strongly in the rights of ALL individuals to decide what is right or wrong for themselves (in the realm of surrogacy, jobs, or what have you) to see things from such a limited perspective. What saddens me is that in my mind, that would be the true view of a Feminist.
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