Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy in India: Outsourcing Life - Softcover

Sayantani DasGupta is assistant clinical professor of pediatrics and a core faculty member of the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University.

Shamita Das Dasgupta is cofounder of Manavi, an organization focusing on violence against South Asian women in the United States. She teaches at New York University Law School.

While the number of scholarly works on surrogacy in India [has] increased in recent years, the profound complexities and contradictions embedded in transnational surrogacy remain largely understudied. Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy in India fills this lacuna by illuminating the lives of Indian surrogates, their foreign clients, and other stakeholders. Editors Sayantani Das Gupta and Shamita Das Dasgupta bring together authors from wide-ranging fields to examine the socio-cultural, ethical, and legal implications of commercial gestational surrogacy in India. In so doing, this volume expertly deals with the intricacies of the phenomenon, engaging with critical questions of class, power, agency, violence, and work . . . . [T]his book represents critical reading for scholars interested not only in transnational surrogacy, but also in broader questions related to labour and gender in transnational contexts. The volume is accessible and effective for people seeking a starting point for research on transnational surrogacy, while still providing the nuance and complexity specialists require. Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy inIndia should be essential reading for activists and policy-makers interested in the contemporary realities of, and future possibilities for, women who work as surrogates in India. (South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies)

This edited collection is an important effort by the authors to address the complex issues that surround transnational, commercial surrogacy, with particular focus on the relationship between India and the West. . . .The value of Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy in India lies in the depth of those 11 case studies. . . .[This book] would make a great contribution to courses in sociology, anthropology, gender studies, international policy, reproductive health, and more. (Gender & Society)

Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy in India is an excellent text for anyone seeking to learn more about the surrogacy market in India. Because its approach is interdisciplinary, it illuminates the divergent and complex dimensions of the surrogacy market. . . This text is a valuable addition to the growing body of literature addressing transnational surrogacy, and paves the way for important further research to follow. . . Thus, Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy serves as a great introduction to the topic, as well as functions as a foundational block in its field of inquiry. Selected chapters would make valuable additions to undergraduate Women’s Studies, Sociology, or Medical Ethics classrooms, while the entire work would be useful to researchers or graduate students interested in the field. (South Asian Review)

There are so many disturbing aspects to transnational surrogacy in India. In addition to reprising some of the better-known concerns, such as inequities; the commodification of women, babies, and body bits; and the limits of nation-state governance in a globalized world, this volume also gives voice to the different players' understandings glimpsed through ethographies and analyses of cyber-chat, and gives shape to less-familiar aspects of each of the participant's situations. Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy in India: Outsourcing Life helps us traverse this tough terrain. -Wendy Chavkin, Columbia University (Wendy Chavkin, Columbia University)