Couples like Jennifer and Kendall travel to India because the cost of a surrogate pregnancy there is much cheaper than in the United States. At the clinic in Anand, having a baby with a surrogate costs roughly $12,000—instead of up to about $80,000 in America.
Because surrogate mothers in India make so much less money than those in the United States, some worry these women are being exploited. According to Lisa, this is absolutely not the case. "This is so transformative," Lisa says. "So many people from Europe and other countries come to the United States, but it's so expensive. No one says that American women are being exploited when they become surrogates."
To those who worry about exploitation, Jennifer says someone who hasn't been in her situation should not judge. "You have not walked in my shoes as someone who cannot have a child," she says. "And you don't know how it feels to not be able to pay for your children to go to school, to not be able to ... take care of your family. You don't know how that feels. And we were able to come together, [Sangita] and I, and give each other a life that neither of us could achieve on our own. And I just don't see what's wrong with that."
Published 01/01/2006
