Everything You Need to Know About the Newest Type of “Organ Donation”: Brain-dead Surrogacy
Graphic by Kaci Kopf
Recently a new idea for surrogacy was leaked to the media, causing a great deal of criticism and backlash. What is this newfound idea you may ask? Brain-dead surrogacy. Yes, you read that right! Professor Anna Smajdor’s paper entailing her idea was leaked to the media earlier this month, leading to a misinformed uproar.
So what is “brain-dead surrogacy”? According to Smajdor this “whole body gestational donation,” — or WBGD — is the newest form of surrogacy mixed with organ donation. Similar to how a person donates organs, a person would now be able to donate their body postmortem to carry a baby for another person.
Now if you are a little apprehensive about this particular form of cadaveric organ donation, you are not alone. After Smajdor’s idea broke news, many took to Twitter to share their opinions on the topic saying: “Do we really live in a time whereas a cis woman I have to state if I'm ever in a coma and ruled 'brain dead' I do not condone/consent/want my body to be used to grow babies as a surrogate? Denying my humanity and using me as a host? A strong no!” said a Tweet via @ElfieKaw.
Others took the idea as another misogynistic approach to taking advantage of a woman’s body. Colombian Congresswoman Jennifer Pedraza is one account against the paper, arguing that “women are not utensils to be thrown away after use, women have human rights—even if some people forget this.” Some say these comments are coming from a place of misinformation as a result of tabloids only publishing parts of the story.
Smajdor defended her idea saying that we know brain-dead women can carry a pregnancy to full term. She also set the record straight concerning consent by describing the process as almost identical to our current organ donation system. Additionally, Smajdor believes that WBDG is a way for people to continue to live even after death.
Read more about the possibility of “brain-dead surrogacy” here.
