Kelly Brunacini

In the frenzied rush to pass the Child-Parent Security Act , Gov. Cuomo and its sponsors are too eagerly and greedily promoting the commodification of women’s bodies in exchange for a slice of the multibillion-dollar fertility industry.

Details of this bill, which would legalize paid surrogacy, were decided behind closed doors last week. Cuomo and legislative leaders plot to push this ill-conceived bill forward without transparency or public discussion and in defiance of the unanimous recommendations of former Gov. Mario Cuomo’s Task Force on Life and Law. Both pro-choice leaders and pro-life activists express concerns: Surrogacy undermines women’s control over their bodies and objectifies the human person that is the pre-born child.

In February, Gov. Cuomo received a four-page letter signed by more than 75 pro-choice leaders, including Gloria Steinem, denouncing legalized surrogacy.

Kathy Sloan, former board member of the National Organization for Women, author and self-described radical feminis,t said, “Commercial surrogacy is a predatory, profit-driven industry that preys on marginalized women, creating a breeder class for the wealthy, be they heterosexual or homosexual.”

On the pro-life side, Feminists Choosing Life of New York said in a letter to legislators, “(We) recognize the inherent exploitation within the commercial surrogacy industry in that it especially targets young women, women living in poverty, women of color and particularly “military wives”. FCL also notes that within the surrogate arrangement, the resulting child is disregarded as a mere object for sale. No consideration given to the child’s bonding process, future emotional response or humanity.

New York leadership is ignoring the prevailing wisdom surrounding legalized surrogacy. Only 10 states and Washington, D.C., have similar surrogacy laws as proposed by the Parent-Child Safety Act while others only allow surrogacy for altruist reasons. Surrogacy for profit is illegal in Canada, Denmark, Australia and the UK while countries around the world including France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden, have banned surrogacy outright.

By legalizing gestational surrogacy, New York joins the ranks of Russia, Ukraine, and the country of Georgia as hubs for gestational surrogacy trafficking.

A simple Google search reveals the seedy underside of surrogacy. Slick websites and ads pandering to wealthy gay and straight couples abound as do enticing easy-money ads that target poor women and women on university campuses. All demean women, the gestational process, motherhood and the resulting child.

Surrogacy is bad for women, bad for children and bad for New York state.

Kelly Brunacini is a board member of Feminists Choosing Life of New York