English Oral Help?

[timton]

Hi,

For the english oral, my topic is 'commercial surrogacy should be legal in Australia'. I'm currently unsure what supporting reasons I should use. My only supporting reason right now is "lack of medical and protection for third world surrogates (Thailand, India etc.). If anyone could help me with some other supporting reasons, it'll be much appreciated.

Thank you

[dankfrank420]

- It would be safer for surrogates if it were regulated/protected by health standards in a first world country
- It would negate the "exploitation" (Note: This is a contentious issue in an of itself - are women really being exploited if they choose to be a surrogate?) of often poor third world women
- It's ethical that we allow women in Australia to have the ability to govern their own bodies (like the abortion argument)

[EvangelionZeta]

^these - re: the allow people to govern their own bodies point, it's easy to draw analogies here between surrogacy and other forms of labor (ie. I can sell my body to a corporation to let them use my labor to build a bridge, why can't I sell it to a couple to help them build a baby?)

Also, easy argument is just how this affirms the rights of parents.  Many couples want children but can't fit pregnancy and childbearing into their lives.  Talk about how this helps women in particular (who might be discriminated against in the workforce otherwise for taking leave for pregnancy)

[timton]

^these - re: the allow people to govern their own bodies point, it's easy to draw analogies here between surrogacy and other forms of labor (ie. I can sell my body to a corporation to let them use my labor to build a bridge, why can't I sell it to a couple to help them build a baby?)

Also, easy argument is just how this affirms the rights of parents.  Many couples want children but can't fit pregnancy and childbearing into their lives.  Talk about how this helps women in particular (who might be discriminated against in the workforce otherwise for taking leave for pregnancy)

do you think talking about it economically would be okay? as it can help the ageing population and also increase the GDP

[M_BONG]

do you think talking about it economically would be okay? as it can help the ageing population and also increase the GDP

It's a bad argument - probably too much of a red herring. If you think about it, anything we produce increases the GDP.
 I think a better economic argument is that by legalising it, a largely deregulated industry will have some accountability and in doing so, medical malpractices may be reduced. When the government regulates the surrogacy system, there may be more effective "price signals" - i.e. there may be more suppliers, more competition and suppliers will only be able to charge high prices if there is sufficient demand. Under a black market, they can charge as much as they want because there are no alternatives.