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Politics of the Womb: The Perils of IVF, Surrogacy and Modified Babies
Among life’s choices is to have children or remain childfree. Yet those who want a child and find themselves unable, live through the trauma of ‘infertility’—cruelly attributed as ‘their fault’—to undergo the tribulations of assisted reproductive technology.
But how safe is aggressive Ivf, invasive Icsi, exploitative ovarian hyper-stimulation and commercial surrogacy? Politics of the Womb proves that there can be broken babies and breaking mothers; it rips away the romanticism around uterus transplants, warns of genetic theft and ‘designer babies’, and points to the human element being sacrificed, as artificial reproduction uses, reuses and recycles the woman.
Pinki Virani combines investigation with analysis to question those who lead the worldwide onslaught on the woman’s womb in the name of babies, and squarely confronts what has become the business of baby-making by a chain of suppliers that manufactures on demand. Written in a manner accessible to all, here finally is a path-breaking book which speaks up, in no uncertain terms, for the right to informed choice on responsible reproduction.
But how safe is aggressive Ivf, invasive Icsi, exploitative ovarian hyper-stimulation and commercial surrogacy? Politics of the Womb proves that there can be broken babies and breaking mothers; it rips away the romanticism around uterus transplants, warns of genetic theft and ‘designer babies’, and points to the human element being sacrificed, as artificial reproduction uses, reuses and recycles the woman.
Pinki Virani combines investigation with analysis to question those who lead the worldwide onslaught on the woman’s womb in the name of babies, and squarely confronts what has become the business of baby-making by a chain of suppliers that manufactures on demand. Written in a manner accessible to all, here finally is a path-breaking book which speaks up, in no uncertain terms, for the right to informed choice on responsible reproduction.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 15, 2017
At 20% mark, I am giving up on the book. Instead of giving facts and figures about surrogacy, presenting a neutral picture and letting the reader decide the stance; this book is a rant. It starts out as rant and feels like a shrill judgement. I am pro abortion and agree with some of Pinki's views but I do think surrogacy helps some couples. There are good and bad practitioners in every profession, can we paint everyone with the same wand?
Avoid. I am not going to waste any more time trying to finish the book.
Avoid. I am not going to waste any more time trying to finish the book.
October 28, 2018
Public Service Announcement: DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THIS BOOK!!
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s time for a review of sorts. This is one of those rare books that made me pause countless times in between pages, taken by surprise at the magnitude of contempt and disgust I was capable of feeling toward the author.
For a book that claims to be grounded in scientific fact, it is laughably poor in that respect. Most often, we have Pinki Virani making full throated assertions with absolutely no backing. And when she does “cite research work”, it is done in such a slipshod manner that it is useless. She has generously used the copy paste option, and filled entire chapters, never bothering to condense or summarize. Had I or any of my classmates at college, dared submit any assignment prepared with such little effort or thought, we would have been (rightfully) given a talking to by our professors.
The lack of either sufficient editing or grammar in Virani’s prose does not make things any easier. Scientific terms such as In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), etc. are all typed out like normal words – Ivf, Icsi, Art, which adds to the reader’s frustration.
And in case anyone still believes I am exaggerating about the poor quality of Virani’s scientific and fact-based writing, I treat you to one of many gems from her book:
“Alas, there is international evidence that lvf babies are being born with complex disorders. The numbers are irrelevant; one baby out of 1 per cent of that proof is already much too much. There are children being born with congenital disorders after lvf. True, there are also children being born with disorders the world-over and they are brought into this world the natural way. But these are higher than those disorders, and these aren’t necessarily those disorders. The fact is there are increased risks in the offspring after lvf.”
(In case you are wondering, the ‘Ivf’ as opposed to ‘IVF’ is entirely Ms. Virani’s style, not mine.)
As if this weren’t enough, the author often seems confused as to whether she is putting together facts or arguing passionately about women’s rights. Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with fighting for women’s rights. But to claim that your work is based on scientific research and then fill it with impassioned (grammatically wrong and broken) prose decrying the oppression of women is defrauding the reader. This is not what I signed up for.
Another issue I have with this book and its author is this: while I identify as a feminist, I cannot fathom this author’s reasoning. She seems to harbor a visceral hatred for all men, as if this is a prerequisite to espousing women’s rights. Yes, I am painfully aware that there are too many arenas where women are oppressed, their voices silenced. But the path to righting these wrongs does not have to include trampling over men either. Take a look at some of Ms. Virani’s typical sarcasm reserved for the male of the species:
“Enters homo erectus, in more ways than the evolutionary instant it rose from quadruped to walk on two legs. Does not use a good-quality condom. Has King Kong-like sperm count [not to be confused with the size of his package but let him not think size does not ever count, it can for women when it does].”
“Sperm is made in the man’s testicles, euphemistically and optimistically self-proclaimed as balls, actual size and swing having nothing to do with swagger of the same term.”
Coming to the purported main issue addressed in the book - IVF and its perils - most of us do know that there are several risks involved in the process, given the repeated dosage of strong hormones administered, especially to the woman. If a reader is familiar with news reports, they would also know of the dangers of commercial surrogacy, especially in a nation like India. With a large portion of its population living in poverty, it is true that too many women are likely to be pressured into becoming surrogates in exchange for monetary compensation. I do not need 350+ rambling pages of bad English to make me aware of this unfortunate fact.
Long story short: if you value your time and money, please give this apology for a book a wide berth!
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s time for a review of sorts. This is one of those rare books that made me pause countless times in between pages, taken by surprise at the magnitude of contempt and disgust I was capable of feeling toward the author.
For a book that claims to be grounded in scientific fact, it is laughably poor in that respect. Most often, we have Pinki Virani making full throated assertions with absolutely no backing. And when she does “cite research work”, it is done in such a slipshod manner that it is useless. She has generously used the copy paste option, and filled entire chapters, never bothering to condense or summarize. Had I or any of my classmates at college, dared submit any assignment prepared with such little effort or thought, we would have been (rightfully) given a talking to by our professors.
The lack of either sufficient editing or grammar in Virani’s prose does not make things any easier. Scientific terms such as In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), etc. are all typed out like normal words – Ivf, Icsi, Art, which adds to the reader’s frustration.
And in case anyone still believes I am exaggerating about the poor quality of Virani’s scientific and fact-based writing, I treat you to one of many gems from her book:
“Alas, there is international evidence that lvf babies are being born with complex disorders. The numbers are irrelevant; one baby out of 1 per cent of that proof is already much too much. There are children being born with congenital disorders after lvf. True, there are also children being born with disorders the world-over and they are brought into this world the natural way. But these are higher than those disorders, and these aren’t necessarily those disorders. The fact is there are increased risks in the offspring after lvf.”
(In case you are wondering, the ‘Ivf’ as opposed to ‘IVF’ is entirely Ms. Virani’s style, not mine.)
As if this weren’t enough, the author often seems confused as to whether she is putting together facts or arguing passionately about women’s rights. Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with fighting for women’s rights. But to claim that your work is based on scientific research and then fill it with impassioned (grammatically wrong and broken) prose decrying the oppression of women is defrauding the reader. This is not what I signed up for.
Another issue I have with this book and its author is this: while I identify as a feminist, I cannot fathom this author’s reasoning. She seems to harbor a visceral hatred for all men, as if this is a prerequisite to espousing women’s rights. Yes, I am painfully aware that there are too many arenas where women are oppressed, their voices silenced. But the path to righting these wrongs does not have to include trampling over men either. Take a look at some of Ms. Virani’s typical sarcasm reserved for the male of the species:
“Enters homo erectus, in more ways than the evolutionary instant it rose from quadruped to walk on two legs. Does not use a good-quality condom. Has King Kong-like sperm count [not to be confused with the size of his package but let him not think size does not ever count, it can for women when it does].”
“Sperm is made in the man’s testicles, euphemistically and optimistically self-proclaimed as balls, actual size and swing having nothing to do with swagger of the same term.”
Coming to the purported main issue addressed in the book - IVF and its perils - most of us do know that there are several risks involved in the process, given the repeated dosage of strong hormones administered, especially to the woman. If a reader is familiar with news reports, they would also know of the dangers of commercial surrogacy, especially in a nation like India. With a large portion of its population living in poverty, it is true that too many women are likely to be pressured into becoming surrogates in exchange for monetary compensation. I do not need 350+ rambling pages of bad English to make me aware of this unfortunate fact.
Long story short: if you value your time and money, please give this apology for a book a wide berth!
October 26, 2016
A hot topic to write on but was overall I was disappointed. Two things that bothered me. Firstly the book tries marry a research and evidence based approach with an emotional and human element perspective and ends up doing neither very well. It ends up being a bit sensationalist in it's use of data and melodramatic when examining the human angle.
Secondly, and far far more annoying is the fact that Yoda (yes the guy from Star Wars) seems to have edited or influenced the style of writing. 'Sentence weird sturcturing is'...
Secondly, and far far more annoying is the fact that Yoda (yes the guy from Star Wars) seems to have edited or influenced the style of writing. 'Sentence weird sturcturing is'...
December 16, 2016
So much destruction inside a woman's body; rationalized in the name of poverty, romanticized in the name of the putative child. So many deaths, not each of them physical; all in a birth industry. ... Excerpt from the book...sums up the review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews