Outsourcing Pregnancy

Outsourcing to India has become all the rage. From customer service calls to tech support, even insurance claim processing has moved to the subcontinent. Now, however, Indian outsourcing has taken on a new dimension – pregnancy. Increasingly poor Indian women are making their wombs available to foreigners who otherwise cannot carry a pregnancy. Surrogate motherhood, a procedure that can cost literally tens of thousands of dollars in the U.S., can be accomplished in India for as little as $5,000. Currently, in just one district of the Indian state of Gujarat, over 50 women are acting as surrogate mothers. While critics claim these women are being exploited, Dr. Naina Patel of a fertility clinic in Gujarat, says they are simply providing a "global solution" to a "global problem."