Last month, there was news that several Thai women were held captive in a Middle Eastern country called Georgia to get their ovaries trafficked for other couples who can’t conceive naturally. Apps like TikTok have highlighted why it is such a delicate and important topic.
These women were promised money and a costless trip on Facebook in exchange for their surrogacy but then ended up getting trapped. Reportedly, one of these women escaped when she paid a ransom of 70000 baht or 2,053 U.S dollars.
When they arrived, they had their passports taken, were told they were in Georgia illegally and were confined to an area. One article says around 100, while the other says about 70 other women were being overloaded with hormones.
TikTok pages are contradicting with comments like “women’s rights aren’t endangered” or “feminism isn’t needed” with sarcastic intent. For many women around the world, feminism is a privilege, and it shouldn’t be this way.
“It’s sad because it’s not just Thailand,” freshman Marissa Saengkeo said. “In my own culture, I have seen a lot of videos with a lack of femininity.”
Several countries have banned international surrogacy, including France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Australia and most recently India.
These bans are strictly enforced to prevent exploitation, human trafficking, human rights or certain religious beliefs. However, in Thailand, the ART Act was lifted, now only allowing only domestic surrogacy. Georgia also lifted their ban on surrogacy, which has no restrictions on altruistic, international or commercial surrogacy.
When countries have no restrictions on surrogacy, it becomes more accessible for illegal matters or human trafficking to occur. Not only that, but common media sources like Facebook should hold more strict conduct over advertisements.
