I came in late to this movie
But about 15 minutes to the end, did I just watch them film a women dying during labor?
shareI thought the same thing when I was watching it, but, no, she didn't die. She was just very drugged.
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MovieChat Forums > Google Baby (2009) Discussion > I came in late to this movie
No, this is a documentary of a high-tech service to help infertile couples (or singles) create babies using surrogate wombs (these were the women in India), egg donors (often American) and sometimes sperm donors. It is pretty controversial, but in many cases it brings happiness to childless people. It also brings money to poor people in India (surrogates who carry the fetus to term often get a house and money to feed their own children), egg donors are often poor young women who use money to pay for college or support their own families (in this movie it shows an egg donor who is married with 2 kids, and uses money to buy guns that her family uses to hunt! - that story disgusted me no end!).
But since adoption is so long and hard and risky, this way of getting to be a parent may have its place.
Originally saw this movie at the Toronto Film Festival. The filmmaker doesn't make any moral judgments for the viewer. She just filmed the various transactions and players involved then lets the audience make up its own mind. It's an excellent film guaranteed to spark lots of intense discussion.
It would appear that this method of acquiring babies is a "win-win-win" situation for everyone involved (surrogates, egg/sperm donors, potential parent[s]) but that simplistic assumption doesn't take into account what could go WRONG. Armed with money and a strong entitlement to "get what it wants", I can easily see how Western exploitation of Third World/developing nations would occur. There's also the concern about international regulation of this global baby-making enterprise and the protection of women--especially those who don't have much choice or voice due to their lower socio-economic standing. What about the children themselves? Are they becoming mere commodities or "accessories"?
Everyone involved in this process seems to be blinded by their own selfish goal (e.g. getting a child, earning a quick buck, improving one's material lifestyle, bypassing government regulations) without giving any thought to the multiple legal, ethical, physical (health) and social ramifications of their actions. Some have decided to take advantage of the possibilities offered through today's scientific advancements. However, while science may provide us the tools to achieve certain things, it surely doesn't inform us on WHAT IS MORALLY RIGHT. One has to wonder if charity/compassion is the primary and true motivation for these people or if it all boils down to the business ethics of "supply & demand", "making a profit". Why is this bizarre, complicated form of international adoption even necessary? Why or how has the option of domestic adoption failed so much for childless couples?
The biggest lesson I came away with after viewing the film was that we needed to re-evaluate and/or re-affirm our core values with each scientific breakthrough instead of rushing ahead carelessly for self-gratification. We cannot afford to ignore something so significant because it's "too complicated".