Did anyone watch this last night? It was about an Irish couple using an Indian woman to be a surrogate. I am not sure what this couple were thinking allowing cameras but I found it extremely uncomfortable to watch it. There were so many elements to the story that just made me feel uneasy. From what I gather today, I wasn't the only one. Shame because this is a topic that deserves to be talked about but this couple couple were not right for this programme no matter how decent or well intentioned they were.
RTE Programme on surrogacy.
- Thread starter Sunny
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This wasn't entertainment.
Found it very uncomfortable watching. Felt if legislation is put forward cases like this should not be allowed. Do not agree with surrogacy for financial gain. It would be ok between siblings for example for altruistic reasons but this felt the same as buying organs abroad.
as far as RTE are concerned it was......I take it you watched the programme so that proves the point!
I sometimes watch the news on RTE. Does that make it entertainment?
Ceist Beag
Registered User
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I would say you're wrong....
that is your right....
It can be, depending on the weather girl
That's TG4 you're thinking of. It's all entertainment to me as I can't understand a word they say
Duke of Marmalade
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[broken link removed]should make it clear that TV is not entertainment.
FTSE has two industry sectors 53 Leisure Entertainment and Hotels and 54 Media and Photography.
TV is is listed as subsector 543.
FTSE has two industry sectors 53 Leisure Entertainment and Hotels and 54 Media and Photography.
TV is is listed as subsector 543.
I didn't watch it.
Surrogacy for financial gain has been described as rent a womb, but for some people it is the only option to have a child.
There was a moment on the Graham Norton BBC1 TV show a few weeks ago. Surrogacy wasn't being discussed or referenced. The movie Philomena was being plugged with Dame Dench and Steve Coogan, somebody mentioned the nasty nuns took Philomena's baby and sold the baby. Elton John looked a bit sheepish on the couch!
Surrogacy itself isn't the problem. The problem with the programme was the number of other disturbing factors.
The couple were in their mid 50's. They each had children albeit with other people and decided they wanted a child together. Some people will say fair enough but then we find out that the mother will have no biological link to the children. They are using another Indian woman's eggs for the process. Therefore her relationship to these children is no different to her relationship with her partners existing children.
We then see them go off to India and meet the surrogate mother. They meet her briefly. We then find out the reasons why the woman is doing it (poverty) and we find out that she will have to spend her pregnancy in a house with other surrogates sharing a room with 4-5 other women and she is not allowed to leave. The Irish couple weren't allowed to see the house but were shown pictures. It looked grim.
Then they talk about the process and obviously the more embryos they implant, the higher the chance of success. They implant three embryo's but knowing that the maximum that the clinic will allow succeed is two i.e. twins. Of course as luck would have it, all three end up viable but as the clinic will only allow two, one has to be terminated.
Then for the birth, the Irish couple are not allowed to be there. They are handed the babies but are not allowed to see the surrogate. They are simply told she is fine.
We then see the legal situation with the child. The woman has no legal rights to the children whatsoever. If the man was to die tomorrow with no will made, the children would be left without a guardian or if the couple were to split up, she would have no rights.
The children themselves are left Stateless. Neither the Indian Government or the Irish Government consider them citizens and they had to travel back on emergency documents and now the couple face another legal battle to try and obtain Irish Nationality.
The whole thing was just disturbing.
I don't want to drag this off topic, but isn't this the same as an Irish couple with a biological child - mother dies (with ni will) and the father has no legal right to the kid?
Disturbing at best. IMO it's a disgrace.
Yes, if they are unmarried.