You say potato, I say potato...

I've been following a debate recently about the outsourcing of wombs in India. What happens is American couples (read: rich white folks) pay to have their eggs incubate in a woman's womb in India. It's all brokered through this agency, and it seems safe. Everyone comes out happy in the end. (I'm sure I'm not explaining this well, so if you need more information, check it out here.)

I've heard people come down on many sides of this debate, many of whom refer to themselves as feminists. We have feminists saying it's freedom for a woman to do as she chooses as well as feminists saying that equal opportunity to be taken advantage of isn't the kind of equal treatment we're looking for.

I, for one, like to think that I have the interest of women at heart and would consider myself a feminist. And my stance on the issue? I'm not really sure this is a feminist issue. I think this is an economic issue. Economically speaking, the U.S. has a leg up on India. And this is simply a manifestation of that power relationship. The women themselves, who are volunteering to do this, are making a choice to use their bodies in a way that benefits both them and the customer.

It's very much like prostitution, which I will heartily recommend be legalized and government-regulated. Why? Because it's not going to stop, whether it makes you comfortable or not. So we ought to hold it to standards, keep all participants safe, and earn money on the taxes. It will keep our jails and cops available for child rapists and embezzlers.

My big question to all the feminists out there - if this choice of a woman to do the work of pregnancy for a price, to use her body in a way that is beneficial to her (much like, say, a furniture mover uses his), becomes the focus of our debate, aren't we then turning this woman into nothing more than her womb? Aren't we objectifying her more than the work itself ever could?

My opinion on this one is by no means set in stone, and I am open to suggestion. But this is where I'm tentatively leaning. Let me know your thoughts...