Reproductive BioMedicine Online (2015) 30, 113–114
w w w. s c i e n c e d i r e c t . c o m w w w. r b m o n l i n e . c o m
COMMENTARY
Implications of the legalization of noncommercial surrogacy for local kinship and motherhood in Vietnamese society Yuri Hibino * Kanazawa University, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture Japan * E-mail address: [email protected].
Until recently, surrogacy was banned in Vietnam for all cases. The government, however, has altered its position on reproductive technology and will soon legalize non-commercial surrogacy among relatives. Motherhood is highly venerated in Vietnamese society and, under this local kinship conception, gestational process is of paramount importance in establishing a connection between the fetus and the woman. The implications of this new government decision for local kinship, motherhood and the individuals concerned will be discussed.
Abstract
© 2014 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KEYWORDS: kinship, motherhood, regulation, surrogacy, Vietnam
On June 19, 2014, the National Assembly of Vietnam amended and then passed the Law on Family and Marriage, which will be enacted on January 1, 2015, to legalize noncommercial surrogacy among relatives. The revised law stipulates the following: that only infertile couples who are legally married can apply to use surrogates; that such couples must undergo counselling; that the surrogate must be a relative of the couple; that the surrogate must have a child of her own; that the surrogate’s husband must provide consent; and that and the embryo must be created from the commissioning couple’s sperm and ovum (D ˆ· tu ` ,̓ 2014; ¯ u o·̓ c̓ phép mang thai ho Tuong Lam translated by Uyen Phuong, 2013; Viet Nam News, 2012, 2013). In 2003, Vietnam banned surrogacy in all cases with the Decree on Childbirth by Scientific Methods. The government, however, has now altered its position on reproductive technology in a direction that is unique among Southeast Asian countries. The implications of this new government decision for local kinship, motherhood and the individuals concerned will be discussed.
Motherhood is highly venerated in Vietnamese society, and infertile women much stigmatized. Moreover, according to the anthropological fieldwork on assisted reproductive technology in Vietnam conducted by Pashigian, traditional Vietnamese attitudes toward mother–child kinship have made womb-centrism a dominant notion in this country (Pashigian, 2009). That is, gestation is viewed as a process by which the relationship between mother and child deepens and strengthens to the extent that mother and child become inseparable. In the womb, mother and fetus not only exchange nutrition though blood, but they also interact emotionally. Between 2012 and 2013, I conducted research on assisted reproductive technology and reproductive donation (e.g. egg donation and surrogacy) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Hibino, 2014). Although surrogacy was banned in Vietnam during this period, several agencies offered illegal reproductive donation services for commercial purposes. Interviews could therefore be conducted with several informants, including agency personnel, egg donors and surrogates. One interviewee commented: ‘If I became a surrogate, I wouldn’t
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2014.10.015 1472-6483/© 2014 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
114 hand over the baby, even though the embryo had been created by a client’s ovum, because I carried the baby.’ This woman had previously donated her ovum for commercial purposes, but had no experience with surrogacy. During one interview, a prospective surrogate suddenly became tearful imagining that she would have to hand over the child after delivery. In answer to my question, she responded that she could not understand the difference between a traditional and a gestational surrogate because she had not yet started the procedure. Pashigian’s argument of ‘womb-centrism’ is supported by these interviews, which show that the gestational process is of paramount importance in establising a connection between the fetus and the woman, irrespective of any genetic link. It is important to note the widespread lack of knowledge about genes and DNA in Vietnam. In general, Vietnamese people have no chance to be given accurate information about genetics during their schooling. One woman interviewed commented: ‘I think the child will resemble his/her birth mother but not the ovum donor in appearance, because the birth mother is the real mother of the child.’ Her response reflected a lack of accurate information about DNA and heredity. Vietnam’s local conceptualization of kinship may provide an appropriate context for egg donation for both donor and recipient, because people would probably assume that the birth mother was the ‘real’ mother (i.e. both genetically and biologically) of the child, irrespective of whether a donated ovum was used. The recipient woman would therefore be regarded as the legitimate mother of the child in this wombcentric context. On the other hand, surrogacy may generate conflict between the mother commissioning the surrogacy and the birth mother owing to traditional local womb-centric conceptualizations about motherhood according to which the surrogate (birth) mother rather than the commissioning (genetic) mother would be the legitimate mother. It is also important to consider certain advantages offered by surrogacy involving relatives. Vietnam would allow only noncommercial surrogacy that relied on relatives. Family ties are very strong in Vietnamese society, and people believe relatives should help one another when difficulties arise. Therefore, infertile couples may find prospective surrogates
Y Hibino among their relatives relatively easily. Indeed, surrogacy among relatives may reduce the severity of the conflict between the genetic and biological mother. Moreover, the governmental stipulation that the embryo be created by the commissioning couple’s sperm and ovum may reduce the psychological burden placed on the surrogate if the scientific information about DNA, which is now being disseminated throughout Vietnamese society, reaches surrogates and commissioning couples. In summary, reproductive technology, such as gestational surrogacy, may change traditional notions of family and kinship. We will soon learn how Vietnamese society will react to new reproductive technology.
Acknowledgements The research was supported by the Funding Program for Next Generation World Leading Researchers in 2010–2013 (LZ006).
References Decree on childbirth by scientific methods, 2003. Available from: . ˆ· tu ` ,̓ 2014. Available from: . Hibino, Y., 2014. Medicalization of infertility and reproductive business in Vietnam. Obstet. Gynecol. 81, 1521–1526. Pashigian, M.J., 2009. The womb, infertility, and the vicissitudes of kin-relatedness in Vietnam. J. Vietnamese Stud. 4, 34–68. Tuong Lam translated by Uyen Phuong, 2013. Vietnam deliberating on surrogate births. Available from: http://www.saigon -gpdaily.com.vn/health/2013/5/105062/. SGGP English edition Viet Nam News, 2012. Surrogacy should be legalized but kept under tight control. Available from: . Viet Nam News, 2013. New surrogacy Laws to allow couples chance at parenthood. Available from: .
w w w. s c i e n c e d i r e c t . c o m w w w. r b m o n l i n e . c o m
COMMENTARY
Implications of the legalization of noncommercial surrogacy for local kinship and motherhood in Vietnamese society Yuri Hibino * Kanazawa University, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture Japan * E-mail address: [email protected].
Until recently, surrogacy was banned in Vietnam for all cases. The government, however, has altered its position on reproductive technology and will soon legalize non-commercial surrogacy among relatives. Motherhood is highly venerated in Vietnamese society and, under this local kinship conception, gestational process is of paramount importance in establishing a connection between the fetus and the woman. The implications of this new government decision for local kinship, motherhood and the individuals concerned will be discussed.
Abstract
© 2014 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KEYWORDS: kinship, motherhood, regulation, surrogacy, Vietnam
On June 19, 2014, the National Assembly of Vietnam amended and then passed the Law on Family and Marriage, which will be enacted on January 1, 2015, to legalize noncommercial surrogacy among relatives. The revised law stipulates the following: that only infertile couples who are legally married can apply to use surrogates; that such couples must undergo counselling; that the surrogate must be a relative of the couple; that the surrogate must have a child of her own; that the surrogate’s husband must provide consent; and that and the embryo must be created from the commissioning couple’s sperm and ovum (D ˆ· tu ` ,̓ 2014; ¯ u o·̓ c̓ phép mang thai ho Tuong Lam translated by Uyen Phuong, 2013; Viet Nam News, 2012, 2013). In 2003, Vietnam banned surrogacy in all cases with the Decree on Childbirth by Scientific Methods. The government, however, has now altered its position on reproductive technology in a direction that is unique among Southeast Asian countries. The implications of this new government decision for local kinship, motherhood and the individuals concerned will be discussed.
Motherhood is highly venerated in Vietnamese society, and infertile women much stigmatized. Moreover, according to the anthropological fieldwork on assisted reproductive technology in Vietnam conducted by Pashigian, traditional Vietnamese attitudes toward mother–child kinship have made womb-centrism a dominant notion in this country (Pashigian, 2009). That is, gestation is viewed as a process by which the relationship between mother and child deepens and strengthens to the extent that mother and child become inseparable. In the womb, mother and fetus not only exchange nutrition though blood, but they also interact emotionally. Between 2012 and 2013, I conducted research on assisted reproductive technology and reproductive donation (e.g. egg donation and surrogacy) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Hibino, 2014). Although surrogacy was banned in Vietnam during this period, several agencies offered illegal reproductive donation services for commercial purposes. Interviews could therefore be conducted with several informants, including agency personnel, egg donors and surrogates. One interviewee commented: ‘If I became a surrogate, I wouldn’t
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2014.10.015 1472-6483/© 2014 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
114 hand over the baby, even though the embryo had been created by a client’s ovum, because I carried the baby.’ This woman had previously donated her ovum for commercial purposes, but had no experience with surrogacy. During one interview, a prospective surrogate suddenly became tearful imagining that she would have to hand over the child after delivery. In answer to my question, she responded that she could not understand the difference between a traditional and a gestational surrogate because she had not yet started the procedure. Pashigian’s argument of ‘womb-centrism’ is supported by these interviews, which show that the gestational process is of paramount importance in establising a connection between the fetus and the woman, irrespective of any genetic link. It is important to note the widespread lack of knowledge about genes and DNA in Vietnam. In general, Vietnamese people have no chance to be given accurate information about genetics during their schooling. One woman interviewed commented: ‘I think the child will resemble his/her birth mother but not the ovum donor in appearance, because the birth mother is the real mother of the child.’ Her response reflected a lack of accurate information about DNA and heredity. Vietnam’s local conceptualization of kinship may provide an appropriate context for egg donation for both donor and recipient, because people would probably assume that the birth mother was the ‘real’ mother (i.e. both genetically and biologically) of the child, irrespective of whether a donated ovum was used. The recipient woman would therefore be regarded as the legitimate mother of the child in this wombcentric context. On the other hand, surrogacy may generate conflict between the mother commissioning the surrogacy and the birth mother owing to traditional local womb-centric conceptualizations about motherhood according to which the surrogate (birth) mother rather than the commissioning (genetic) mother would be the legitimate mother. It is also important to consider certain advantages offered by surrogacy involving relatives. Vietnam would allow only noncommercial surrogacy that relied on relatives. Family ties are very strong in Vietnamese society, and people believe relatives should help one another when difficulties arise. Therefore, infertile couples may find prospective surrogates
Y Hibino among their relatives relatively easily. Indeed, surrogacy among relatives may reduce the severity of the conflict between the genetic and biological mother. Moreover, the governmental stipulation that the embryo be created by the commissioning couple’s sperm and ovum may reduce the psychological burden placed on the surrogate if the scientific information about DNA, which is now being disseminated throughout Vietnamese society, reaches surrogates and commissioning couples. In summary, reproductive technology, such as gestational surrogacy, may change traditional notions of family and kinship. We will soon learn how Vietnamese society will react to new reproductive technology.
Acknowledgements The research was supported by the Funding Program for Next Generation World Leading Researchers in 2010–2013 (LZ006).
References Decree on childbirth by scientific methods, 2003. Available from: . ˆ· tu ` ,̓ 2014. Available from: . Hibino, Y., 2014. Medicalization of infertility and reproductive business in Vietnam. Obstet. Gynecol. 81, 1521–1526. Pashigian, M.J., 2009. The womb, infertility, and the vicissitudes of kin-relatedness in Vietnam. J. Vietnamese Stud. 4, 34–68. Tuong Lam translated by Uyen Phuong, 2013. Vietnam deliberating on surrogate births. Available from: http://www.saigon -gpdaily.com.vn/health/2013/5/105062/. SGGP English edition Viet Nam News, 2012. Surrogacy should be legalized but kept under tight control. Available from: . Viet Nam News, 2013. New surrogacy Laws to allow couples chance at parenthood. Available from: .
