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出租子宫——揭秘印度“婴儿工厂”

2013-04-08

疯狂英语·阅读版 2013年3期
关键词:帕特尔拉吉夫妇

去年,广州一对夫妇通过代孕诞下八胞胎的事件轰动全国。这除了引起大家对违反计生规定的讨论外,也让“代孕”这个灰色的产业浮出水面。“代孕”,在我国以及世界其他许多国家都是明令禁止的。但是,在相对保守的印度,这却是一个合法的产业,以致世界各地的“求子若渴”的夫妇不惜远道前去。“代孕”这种行为依然充满神秘,但或许我们能从印度这个“婴儿工厂”窥探一斑。

Human beings have two main 1)instincts: the instinct of self-protection and the instinct to reproduce,” says Dr Nayana Patel.

And she should know—she has 2)carved out a career matching 3)infertile couples with poor women willing to “rent their wombs”. Beginning with a couple of 4)surrogacies a year in 2003, Dr Patels Akanksha Infertility Clinic in the west Indian state of Gujarat, now delivers around 110 surrogate babies a year.

Commercial surrogacy is highly 5)controversial and banned in many countries across the world.

But in India, a socially 6)conservative society, surrogacy has 7)thrived since the Supreme High Court of India legalized the practice in 2002, with a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry estimating the industry will generate $2.3bn (1.5bn euros) annually by 2012.

人类有两种主要的本能:自我保护和繁殖,” 纳雅娜·帕特尔医生说道。

她是很清楚的——她正是替不孕不育的夫妇与那些愿意“出租自己的子宫”的贫困妇女搭桥,成功开拓出一番事业。这一切始于2003年,当年帕特尔医生在她那位于印度西部古吉拉特邦的阿坎可沙不孕不育诊所进行了几例代孕医疗服务,如今,该诊所每年接生的代孕宝宝约有110个。

有偿代孕是一种极具争议性的行为,而且在全球许多国家被禁止。

但是在印度这个社会道德保守的群体,自从2002年印度最高法院将代孕行为合法化后,代孕服务便盛行起来。印度工业联合会在一份报告中估算:到2012年,该产业每年将能产生23亿美元(15亿欧元)收益。

Partly due to pressure from 8)campaigners, the Indian government set out a draft bill last year, which aims to limit the age of surrogate mothers to 35, 9)imposes a maximum of five pregnancies—including their own children—and makes medical insurance 10)mandatory.

Attempting to avoid messy legal battles that have occurred in the past, another proposal makes it 11)compulsory for 12)prospective parents prove that any infant born to a surrogate mother will have automatic citizenship in their home countries. The bill also aims to stop clinics sourcing, supplying and taking care of the surrogate mothers themselves.

However, for now, its business as usual at Akanksha Infertility Clinic.

Its a little after 10 on a Wednesday morning as Dr Patel arrives at the clinic. Inside, there is a 13)flurry of activity. Medical staff clad in light and navy blue run about, calling out names and carrying files. The lobby is full of women in brightly colored saris, while others are in Western clothes. They are either desperately seeking a baby of their own or seeking to lift themselves out of poverty and offer their own children a better life.

One of the main attractions of surrogacy in India is the price. Most of Dr Patels clients are from the U.S., Canada and Europe. Where it is legal, surrogacy in Western countries can cost 70,000 euros. At Dr Patels Akanksha Infertility Clinic, tucked down a narrow lane behind a 14)chaotic market in Anand, it costs around a third of that.

一定程度上是受到社会运动人士的压力,印度政府于去年制订出一条法令草案,旨在限定代孕母亲的年龄不高于35岁,并不得怀孕超过五次——包括怀孕自己的孩子在内——而且强制购买医疗保险。

为了尽量避免以往发生过的麻烦的法律纠纷,另一项法律提案要求准父母亲必须提供证据,证明任何由代孕母亲所生的孩子能够自动成为他们原籍国的公民。该法令的提出同时旨在阻止诊所招徕、供应和护养代孕母亲。

然而,直到目前为止,阿坎可沙不孕不育诊所的业务量一如以往。

这是一个星期三的早上,时间是十点过一点儿,帕特尔医生来到诊所。诊所里一阵忙乱。医务人员穿着浅海军蓝色的制服到处跑,拿着文件,叫唤着名字。大厅里塞满穿着亮丽莎丽服的妇女,而其他的人则穿着西方服饰。他们有的是急切希望得到一个属于自己的孩子,有的是要设法摆脱贫困给自己的孩子提供更好的生活。

印度的代孕服务最诱人之处便是价格。帕特尔医生的大部分客户都来自美国、加拿大和欧洲。在西方国家里,合法代孕要花上七万欧元。而在帕特尔医生的阿坎可沙不孕不育诊所里,代孕价格仅约为其三分之一。这家诊所位于安纳德一个杂乱市场后的一条窄巷深处。

For the surrogates, who get paid between 4,700 and 5,500 euros by the clinic, the money is worth several years income and is a fast track out of poverty.

When 32-year-old Ranju Rajubhais husband sustained severe burns in an accident in 2007 and could no longer work, surrogacy was the answer to the couples problems. “I thought Ill be doing a good deed, my work will also get done and [the couple] will also get a baby,”says Rajubhai who is due to give birth to a surrogate baby in a month. Like all the women signed on by Patels Akanksha Fertility Clinic, Rajubhai will get a minimum of around £4,000, 15)equivalent to seven years of her husbands salary. “I will get my husbands surgery done[for his burns],” she says.

“I also want to buy a house. It costs [£8,500 to£11,000] these days. One pregnancy wont be enough, so I am thinking of coming back.”

Rajubhais is a familiar story in the “surrogate house”where she lives with 39 other pregnant surrogates from similar backgrounds. Owned by Patel, the house is located ten minutes away from the clinic. With two to three ironframed beds in each room, the house has the look and feel of a hospital ward. The surrogates, clad in loose, colorful gowns are sitting, lying, stretching, watching TV or chatting with each other. In one room, hangs a picture of a crawling toddler with the words: “The time to be happy is now.”

对于代孕妇女来说,她们能从诊所获得4700至5500欧元,这笔钱相当于她们好几年的收入,而且是一条快速脱贫的捷径。

32岁的兰吉·拉吉布海的丈夫在2007年的一次意外中被严重烧伤并失去工作能力,代孕成为了这对夫妇的解困之法。“我认为我所做的会是一件好事,这将能解决我们的问题,并能为(其他夫妇)带来孩子,” 拉吉布海如是说,她将在一个月后生下一个代孕宝宝。正如其他和帕特尔医生的阿坎可沙不孕不育诊所签约的妇女一样,拉吉布海最少将获得约4000英镑,这相当于她丈夫七年的工钱。她说:“我会让丈夫完成(治疗烧伤的)手术。”

“我还想买一所房子。目前来说大概需要(8500到11000英镑)。一次代孕还不够,所以我考虑再来。”

拉吉布海的故事在“代孕小屋”里很常见,在这里,她将与另外39名有着相似背景的代孕妇女一起生活。这间屋子是帕特尔所有,坐落在距离诊所十分钟路程的地方。每个房间里有两到三张铁架床,屋子看起来感觉就像医院病房一样。这些代孕妇们穿着宽松多彩的衫裙,或坐着,或躺着,或伸展着,或看着电视,或互相聊着天。在一间房间里,挂着一幅画,画面里那幼童在爬行着,旁边有些字:“快乐的时光就是此刻。”

The time spent at the surrogate house creates a sense of sisterhood. They enjoy the rest and care they might not have had during their own pregnancies but are confined to the house for the entire duration of pregnancy. Their families are allowed to visit on Sundays but the surrogates are not allowed to leave the house premises except for regular medical check-ups or a family emergency.

The worlds inhabited by surrogates and those seeking surrogacy are vastly different but the compulsions that lead them to the clinic are not.

Slender-framed with green eyes and short-cropped blond hair, 38-year-old Robyn Wright runs a small beauty salon in Wilson, Wyoming. She has a 14-year-old daughter from her first marriage but a 16)hemorrhage after the birth led to a 17)hysterectomy. When she met Jason, a guide at Yellowstone National Park, the couple wanted their own biological child. The Wrights candidly admit they “werent born rich” and dont “live on credit”. Realizing surrogacy in the U.S. was financially impossible; the Wrights staked all their savings and traveled half way across the globe to fulfill their dream.

代孕小屋里的时光造就了一种姐妹情深的氛围。虽然整个怀孕期被限制在这间屋子里,但她们却可以得到休息和照顾,而这种享受在她们怀自己的孩子时是没有的。她们的家人可以在星期天来看望这些代孕妇,但除了去做常规检查或者家庭出现紧急情况外,她们均不准离开屋子。

虽然代孕妇和寻求代孕的人们生活的世界极为不同,但是引领他们来到这间诊所的缘由却有所相似。

38岁的罗宾·赖特身材苗条,有着碧绿的双眼和金色的短发,她在美国怀俄明州的威尔逊经营一家小美容院,有一个14岁的女儿,是她第一段婚姻的结晶,但那次生产出现大出血,导致她的子宫被切除。后来她遇到詹森,黄石国家公园的一名导游,他们想要亲生的孩子。赖特夫妇坦承他们“并非出身豪门”,也不会“靠赊借度日”。当意识到他们的经济条件无法在美国实现代孕后,赖特夫妇决定赌上他们全部的积蓄,横跨半个地球去追求他们的梦想。

“There are so many cases where you are the genetic parent and [the surrogate mother] is 18)blackmailing you. She will not give you the baby … If you dont pay; youre not allowed to see the baby. Couples from abroad write to us saying that the legal liabilities are so much in the U.S., that after paying so much money also, I dont know if Im going to hold my baby or not and that is what India has taken care of.”

She says shes in favor of regulation in India but that ultimately it depends on the 19)ethics of the people involved, not any law.

“See sex determination. Its 20)rampant in India but its illegal. So whatever you do, theres going to be unethical behavior. Its the ethics of the couple, surrogate and doctor, which counts … The laws, even if they are there or not there, it hardly matters. So, Im in favor yes, but ultimately its the people involved which makes it unethical. No amount of laws or 21)supervision can make a procedure ethical.”

Back at Patels clinic, three women who have each traveled from North America hoping to find a surrogate mother to bear them a baby are gushing over a newborn European baby recently born to one of the surrogates at the clinic—proof that their dreams could also come true. “Theres no perfect system, but given what we have and under the circumstances, Dr Patels clinic definitely helps create miracles,”says Fatima, a Canadian.

“出现过太多案例,血缘上的家长受到(代孕母亲的)敲诈勒索。她不把宝宝给你……如果你不给钱的话;你不准去看宝宝。来自海外的夫妇写信跟我们说在美国有很多法律责任约束,但在这里给了这么多钱之后,我还无法知道自己以后能否抱上自己的宝宝,而这点印度已在着力解决。”

她说她赞成印度立法规管,但最终的结果还得是取决于涉事者的道德而不是法律。

“就好比说性别鉴定。在印度这是非法的,但是情况却很猖狂。所以说不管怎样,都会有不道德的人出现。求孕夫妇、代孕妇和医生们自身的道德才是关键所在……至于法律,不管有还是没有,都几乎没有任何影响。所以说,我对此是赞成的,但最终还是涉事的人使事情变得不道德。即使再多的法律规定或者监督也无法使得一个行为合乎道德。”

回到帕特尔的诊所,有三位各自从北美远道而来的妇女,她们希望能找到代孕妇来孕育她们的宝宝,她们滔滔不绝地谈论一个最近在诊所里由代孕妇生下的欧洲宝宝——这证明她们的梦想也有可能成真。“没有完美的制度,但考虑到我们现有的情况,帕特尔医生的诊所肯定有助我们创造奇迹,”加拿大人法蒂玛如是说道。

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