The case of Baby M
1987Sylvia Weinstein 1987-04Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 2 →
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Wanted: White baby, male or female, good genesexcellent pay!
The exploitation of the working class by capitalism has reached a new extreme with the case of Baby M. Mary Beth Whitehead, mother of two children-Ryan, 12 years old, and Tuesday, 11 years old—agreed to serve as a surrogate mother for the sum of $10,000. Ms. Whitehead agreed to undergo artificial insemination by William Stern, an upper-class professional man.
Mr. Stern's wife, Dr. Elizabeth Stern, is not infertile but has an illness that could possibly worsen if she became pregnant. Less than a week after giving birth to the baby, Ms. Whitehead changed her mind, refused the $10,000, and ran away with her new baby and two children to Florida.
The Sterns reacted with rage. They used their wealth and position to hire lawyers by the yard, private detectives, psycho -therapists, psychiatrists, and "experts." All came into the courtroom to back up the claim of the Sterns against Ms. Whitehead, who had to make do with a court-appointed lawyer. Meanwhile, the baby was snatched from Whitehead and turned over to the Sterns. In the hearing last month in New Jersey Superior Court, witness after witness revealed every facet of Whitehead's life. "Experts" testified what wonderful parents the Sterns would make-given their income and upper-middle-class life -style-and contrasted that with the income and lifestyle of the Whitehead family.
Despite the power of the Sterns' legal team, they were unable to prove that Whitehead was anything but a very good parent to her two older children and that they parenting.
Return the In any sane society, Whitehead would have had her baby returned to her. She carried that child for nine months and refused the $10,000 immediately after the birth of her baby.
The only thing contributed by Mr. Stern was his sperm. Evidently, that particular sperm was the only sperm he has cared about for many years, and I assume there is more where that came from.
After reading about this case in the newspapers, it is obvious to me that the child must be returned to its real mother, if justice is to be served. Just by their conduct in this case, the Sterns are unfit parents. They have displayed the most inhuman attitude toward the child and Whitehead.
If Mr. Stern truly loved this child he would offer to pay child support to Ms. Whitehead so the baby could be given the advantages he claims only he can afford.
Actually, the only thing claimed in the Sterns' favor is that they could give the child a wealthier life. There was no proof offered that they would love, nurture, or care for Baby M any more than Ms. Whitehead.
More and more poor women are renting out their wombs in exchange for money. Wealth can buy anything and it can even purchase children. Unfortunately, many women are emotionally destroyed by this experience.
Even women who have adopted out their children often carry a psychological burden with them forever. Abortion is always a difficult decision for any woman to make, but to carry a child for nine months and then be forced to give it up is the most brutal sacrifice.
Women must be given a choice. If they want an abortion-for any reason—it should be made available to them. Also, if a woman decides to keep and raise her child, she must be given all that is necessary so that her and her child's needs—housing, food, and other services-are met.
Real choice means woman can either choose that to carry her child or can choose to abort. This would eliminate the "rental" of woman's wombs for wealthy people. By the way, you would never see a rich woman renting her womb to a poor woman.
In the meantime, in the United States-the richest country in the world-there is a real crisis in the foster-care system. A report in the March 15 New York Times gives this picture:
"The [foster] children are now buffeted by countless rejections and severe stress. They often become angry, depressed, and violent. Few of them understand that they are the littlest victims of a system that, by all accounts, has been overwhelmed...It's gotten to the point where we're sending kids home to bad circumstances because foster care is such a terrible alternative."
We would look with horror upon animals that deliberately destroy their offspring. But we live in a destructive economic system. Capitalism is barbaric to its children. If we judge a society by the treatment of its young, then it is self-evident that this system must be changed.