In recent years, surrogacy has been both sensationalized and understudied. Elly Teman's Birthing a Mother is a welcome corrective; it is a thorough and fascinating ethnographic exploration of Israeli surrogacy in the context of the regulatory practices of the pronatalist state. Luckily for the reader, Teman does not ask what personality traits distinguish surrogates from other women, or whether the practice is good or bad. These questions have been asked often enough and never brought us any closer to understanding surrogacy as a social practice. Birthing a Mother documents the lived experience of the women involved in third-party reproduction and probes into their understandings of bodily boundaries, motherhood, nature, love, and gift in the Israeli political, cultural, and institutional context. Teman's empathy for both surrogates and intended mothers is admirable, and it never clouds her analytic acuity.
The Israeli and American approaches to surrogacy are in many ways opposites. The Israeli state actively supports, and tightly controls surrogacy contracts and mandates a rigorous screening process while American surrogacy is mostly unregulated and contracts are often unenforceable. American agencies and clinics encourage both traditional and gestational surrogacy and the use of "donated" gametes in pursuit of success; in Israel the vast majority of intended parents are the genetic parents and only gestational surrogacy is allowed.
Israeli medical professionals and the public trivialize gestation in favor of genetics and Teman's intriguing analysis shows how in this context surrogates think of themselves as carriers of the host fetus. The surrogate's body and self are no longer synonymous; women separate themselves from the pregnancy that belongs to the genetic mother. Intended mothers see this the same way; they personalize genetics in their claim to motherhood. Strikingly, no one refers to the "unborn child," an expression most Americans now take for granted, often forgetting that this phrase is the political child of the pro-life movement. In the Israeli cultural and political context, embryos and fetuses are not regarded as babies, and women are cautious not to bond with them before birth. And once the surrogate gives birth, the state again takes an active regulatory role, effectively prescribing which woman is in the maternity ward (the intended mother, sometimes even dressed in hospital gown), thereby officially recognizing her as the only mother. Surrogates agree; they birthed not only a child but also a mother.
Israeli women - only single mothers are eligible - initially embark on surrogacy for money. Accepting compensation is not nearly as stigmatized as it is in the US, and the Israeli organizational structure legitimizes payments. Yet during the course of the state-controlled selection process, the subsequent IVF attempts and pregnancy, these women, just like their American counterparts I study, bond with their intended mothers and focus on giving them a child. One of the book's significant contributions is its challenge to the binary understanding of surrogacy as either altruistic giving or the commodification of life. The market logic does not subtract from the sacrifice, "the payment does not eclipse the gift" (p. 211).
Teman marshals an impressive range and depth of scholarship to tease out the meanings and implications of women's narratives. She also takes a nuanced stance in favor of state regulation. Assisted reproduction is here to stay, raising many troubling questions. Scholars may condemn surrogacy, advocate only uncompensated arrangements, or argue that the free market is the best regulator of such reproduction. But whether we like it or not, only consistent regulation guarantees some basic protection for women who bear children for others and for couples who hire surrogates when it comes to medical bills, payments to surrogates, and the resulting children.
Elly Teman writes clearly and compellingly about this very complex topic; the book is enjoyable for non-academic readers interested in contemporary issues. This rich and thought-provoking work is a must-read for students of assisted reproduction; I also recommend it to anyone interested in cultural conceptualization of nature, family, and motherhood and in the politics of reproduction.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Frequently bought together
$29.95
Get it as soon as Friday, May 24
In Stock
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
