A Modern Day "Handmaid's Tale"?

In the latest and, in my opinion, grotesque twist on medical tourism, Judith Warner, author of “"Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety" and host of "The Judith Warner Show" on XM Satellite Radio, writes about the commercialization of surrogate motherhood in India. Her report can be found on the New York Times “Domestic Disturbances” blog, located here.

Many of us have talked, debated and written on the topic of surrogate motherhood, but all too often in the academic abstract. For someone like myself, who has thought about surrogacy in terms of commodification and exploitation, it is interesting to read Ms. Warner take on the issue, especially when she states “Our rules of decency seem to differ when the women in question are living in abject poverty, half a world away. Then, selling one’s body for money is not degrading but empowering.”

Botox in Bali

So, greetings from Bali! You might well wonder what there is to blog about regarding bioethics in Bali, but one of the things that slaps you upside the head as you are coming into the country is number of advertisements for Botox, 'vaginal rejuvenation', cosmetic stem cell procedures, IVF, and other elective procedures -- all advertised as half the price as in the US -- encouraging Indonesia as the spot for medical tourism. In fact, you can watch your procedure done in virtual 3D.