Phyllis
Chesler
@Phyllischesler
·
7h
Mothers for Sale:
Reproductive Prostitution By Phyllis Chesler September 18, 2026 There is a very
good article in this month’s Atlantic by Helen Lewis about legalized surrogacy.
It brings me back to my work in the 1980s and confirms that my analysis and fears
were all too correct. As usual, they were not politically correct. In 1987,
barely a year after I published Mothers on Trial: The Battle for Children and
Custody, I saw that a new kind of custody battle was fully upon us. I viewed
the earliest cases of surrogacy as a battle between wealthy “intended parents”
and economically desperate or psychologically vulnerable women and as another
kind of custody fight. I also viewed the practice for what it is: Selling
babies and practicing slavery in terms of the conditions that “surrogate”
mothers must meet. This was what became known as “reproductive prostitution.”
But also as the “gift of life.” In 1987, I jumped into the issue of legalized
surrogacy with both feet. For my pains, I was attacked by liberal feminists and
accused of “being in bed with the Pope.” That conjured up a strange image
indeed. Read the rest here: https://phyllischesler.substack.com/p/mothers-for-sale
https://phyllischesler.substack.com/p/mothers-for-sale
Phyllis’s
Newsletter
Mothers
for Sale
Reproductive
Prostitution
Phyllis Chesler
Sep 18,
2026
There is a
very good article in this month’s Atlantic by Helen Lewis about
legalized surrogacy. It brings me back to my work in the 1980s and confirms
that my analysis and fears were all too correct. As usual, they were not
politically correct.
In 1987,
barely a year after I published Mothers on Trial: The Battle for Children
and Custody, I saw that a new kind of custody battle was fully upon us. I
viewed the earliest cases of surrogacy as a battle between wealthy “intended
parents” and economically desperate or psychologically vulnerable women and as
another kind of custody fight. I also viewed the practice for what it is:
Selling babies and practicing slavery in terms of the conditions that
“surrogate” mothers must meet. This was what became known as “reproductive
prostitution.” But also as the “gift of life.”
In 1987, I
jumped into the issue of legalized surrogacy with both feet. I organized
demonstrations outside the courthouse where the Baby M case was being heard. I
worked with the great New Jersey lawyer Harold Cassidy, who was representing
Mary Beth Whitehead. I submitted a feminist amicus brief, spoke on the panel
that celebrated the outlawing of legalized surrogacy in New Jersey, lectured
far and wide on the subject, organized a demonstration outside Noel Keane’s
surrogacy clinic in NYC and at a major feminist conference in NYC. For my
pains, I was attacked by liberal feminists and accused of “being in bed with
the Pope.” That conjured up a strange image indeed.
And then I
published Sacred Bond: The Legacy of Baby M. At that point, various
adoption advocates attacked me. I did not oppose adoption, but I did note that
all such babies born of a “surrogate” mother were, in a sense, created for the
purpose of being adopted away from their birthmothers. We still do not understand
whether this is one of the many traumas that adopted as well as “surrogate”
children may experience. (Not to mention the lifelong regrets or ambivalence of
birthmothers who once had their newborns taken from them because they were
unmarried or underage.) I was also attacked by infertile women, the mothers of
infertile daughters and sons, by gay men who wanted their own children, and, of
course, by the profiteers: the pimps and the slavers.
I wrote
articles. And then I was attacked by some radical feminists for muddying the
waters by even raising the issue of adoption. And by the lawyers and
legislators who favored the wealthy clients over and above women’s rights and
who wanted to ever-so-slightly improve the heartless surrogacy contracts.
It’s always
Fun ‘N Games when one thinks independently—it comes with the territory of
speaking one’s mind. It is not personal although women tend to take far too
much personally. Please read Lewis’s article. Even I know about the horror
stories, the cases gone awry.
Mothers
for Sale
Most of
Europe bans commercial surrogacy. The United Nations likens it to slavery. But
in the United States, business is booming.
By Helen
Lewis
September
9, 2026
The Atlantic
When
Shoshannah Roberts talks about the four babies she’s given away, she glows.
“When I think about it now, it still feels emotional,” she told me. “Those
moments are so magical.”
For many
women, the thought of handing over a newborn to someone else is almost
incomprehensible—they feel a deep revulsion at a primal sundering. But for
Roberts, acting as a surrogate four times is the most meaningful thing she has
done with her life. “I’ve seen the parents hold their babies right away, skin
to skin. I mean, like, raw,” she said. “Baby’s off me, cord is cut, and
Mom is just holding her baby and sobbing. It’s amazing.”
The first
time I saw Roberts, who lives in Santa Barbara County, California, she was
speaking at the Men Having Babies conference in downtown San Francisco. Men
Having Babies does exactly what its name promises: The organization helps gay
aspiring fathers find women who are willing—eager, even—to carry their
children. For one weekend every year, more than 200 men from across California
and beyond fill the ballroom at the Marines’ Memorial Club & Hotel and
listen to panel discussions and keynotes, with a special breakout session for
single dads.
Read the full article here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/10/usa-commercial-surrogacy-industry/688357/
