Louisiana approves surrogate mothers

Wash. Post Kathleen Parker writes:

Feminists, traditionalists, Catholics, evangelicals, ethicists and atheists alike have united to combat what many convincingly view as the exploitation and commodification of women and the violation of human rights even as perfect babies and happy families are formed.

Speaking of quagmires.

Latest to the arena is Louisiana, where a pro-surrogacy bill creating a regulatory structure for surrogate parenting passed both legislative houses with few dissenting votes and now faces a possible veto by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R). A thumbs-down from Jindal would constitute an act of principled courage, ...

Really, all those people are against it? I thought that this was one of those esoteric issues that no one wants to talk about and no one cares.

Mitt Romney had 2 grandkids that way during the last election campaign, and no one cared.

Parker wrote a 2008 book on Save the Males: Why Men Matter Why Women Should Care, so she is not a man basher.

The rich take advantage of the poor for designer babies, Caucasian features for carrier preferred.

The United States is second only to India in providing surrogates, according to Sloan, who also works with the United Nations on human rights.

Technically, she is correct that women in India are Caucasians, but I don't get her point. Presumably people go to India because it is legal and economical there, not because Indians are Caucasian.

Here in America, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) recently vetoed a bill similar to Louisiana’s upon learning the darker details behind the family portraits.

While no one wishes to cause pain to people who, for whatever reason, can’t have a child on their own, there are more compelling principles and consequences in play. Human babies are not things; their mothers are not ovens. But bartering and selling babies-to-order sure make them seem that way. By turning the miracle of life into a profit-driven, state-regulated industry, the stork begins to resemble a vulture.

We still have laws against bartering and selling babies. The Louisiana bill would not change that. She complains about the business being profit-driven and state-regulated, but that could be said about the whole health care industry, about maternity wards.

I am still not seeing how human rights are violated. I don't see how it could be any worse than single moms having kids.