A generation ago, infertile couples desperate for children had few choices beyond adoption. Today, advances in science and technology have made it possible to order babies from a menu of convenient options including donated eggs, rented wombs, and gene selection. Indeed, in the United States alone, human reproduction has become a thriving $3 billion industry. Yet the product in this market is one that most would argue should never be sold; a child.
In The Baby Business, Debora Spar argues that it is time to acknowledge the commercial truth about reproduction and to begin thinking about ways of governing it. In this remarkable behind—the—scenes account, she combines pioneering research and interviews with the industry’s top reproductive scientists and trailblazers to provide a first glimpse at how the industry works. Taking readers on a fascinating journey inside controversial market segments such as stem cell research, surrogacy, egg swapping, "designer babies,” cross—border adoption, and human cloning, the book explores;
- Who the baby makers are and how they structure their trade
- Who is making money and how prices are set
- How legal inconsistencies and continentspanning loopholes affect the market
- What role government can and should play in regulating the industry
- How industry participants can address the complex moral and legal challenges they’ll face as this industry evolves.
Hampered only by the limits of science, the dilemma of unmet demand, and an uncertain political system, the fertility trade will inevitably move forward. As it does, The Baby Business challenges us to examine how we can balance science, law, and commerce In our quest to satisfy one of humanity’s most basic desires.