On surrogacy:
From what I saw, it is men who push for surrogacy far more often than women. Men are much more eager to propagate their seed. Women are much more rational & will learn to live childfree. But men? A very common theme is that it's financially bad for him to divorce 1/

her. Say that they built something together and divorce would mean 50:50 split. Not a good outlook. Then there's habit & being too lazy to build a new relationship with a new wife. So what does he do? He rents another "wife" aka he buys the right to use another woman as 2/

an incubator. Wifey is happy because he is so loyal & a true "family man". Who gives a damn about the surrogate & why she had to sell her body & risk her life like that, right? (Btw, there are instances where surrogates died, leaving their own kids orphaned. But who cares?) 3/

There is a small group of women who can't get pregnant for various reasons & who were, like all of us were, raised in a culture that told them they are not "real women" or not "fully human" unless they give birth to their own child. Their zeal to legalize surrogacy looks 4/

like an unhealthy coping mechanism to me.
And what if he's the one who is reproductively challenged? Well, women are far more likely to stay with him & stay childfree for his sake. No mention of pregnancy with the help from a donor. Finally, there are gay men that are 5/

practically indistinguishable from their straight brethren. It's not about children, or being a parent. Parenthood is ultimately a selfless act. If you're starting that road with fundamentally selfish desires to have a mini me or to achieve some kind of immortality, I have bad 6/

news for you - you're already failing.
And yes, I know fertile straight couples don't make kids out of some selfless desire to spread love & spirituality. But that's why it is so vitally important to stop. Fetishizing. Procreation.
Even early Christians recognized this 7/

as a problem. There are theological essays from the 5th century AD urging Christians not to desire biological children at all costs, but to adopt as there are so many neglected, orphaned, sick children in the world that need home & love.
It was 5th century AD. 8/

Why does a piece of simple human wisdom from 15 centuries ago look radical in the 21st century?
The term that comes to mind is "technobarbarism". We are incredibly technologically advanced; but our view of the world is fundamentally barbaric. "Take all that you want" sort of 9/

mentality combined with everything the technology can do. Our barbarism also lies in the fact that the power relationship between the sexes didn't change. We are closer to egalitarianism than we ever were, but we do not live in egalitarian societies. And until that equality 10/

is achieved, surrogacy will be nothing more than barbaric exploitation of underprivileged women and their bodies.

I might revisit this thread to add citations, but I just needed this off my chest for now.
/end