Klass och (o)fria val i samtidens globala reproduktionslandskap

Abstract

The number of Swedish children conceived through commercial surrogacy abroad are increasing and the media debate on surrogacy is heated. In the wake of this, the Swedish public sphere is being filled with personal narratives of individuals travelling abroad with the purpose of having a child through surrogacy. This article analyses two books written by parents through surrogacy: Jaga storken (Hunt the stork) and Moscow baby, with a particular interest in how these two narratives describe and justify the stark class inequalities between intended parents and surrogate mothers. This kind of personal stories contribute to the normalisation of surrogacy through representing intended parents as ”having no choice” and the surrogate mothers as ”choosing subjects”. Thus, they play a crucial ideological function in the ongoing debate on surrogacy.