Further Comodification Of Womankind & Humanity: A Father's Son - Sans A Mother
News of a newly born test-tube baby was spread by the Newspapers of 3 RD October '05 . But, Test-tube babies are not new things or "news-items" now a day. Round about 25 years back first two test-tube babies were born at a few days' or weeks' interval in London and Calcutta . The Late Calcutta Professor Dr. Subhas Mukherjee was happy in producing that first test-tube baby girl, who was later named Durga, in this part of the world , as the mother of that baby-girl was physically unable to receive sperm cells through normal course, though she could and did bear that test-tube-born embryo inside her womb . This method or technique helped many couples to have children there-after. Later, came the technique of using 'surrogate' mothers .Some physiological limitations of either person of a couple could be overcome by these techniques; though it is a 'costly' technology indeed! In a 'cheaper' Metropolis like Calcutta it now costs perhaps between $2500- $4000, of course minus the " fees " of the 'surrogate mother' if that be needed. 'Producing test-tube babies' is a good business now of the 'infertility' centres!
But what happened in the morning of 2 ND October '05in the Clinic cum Nursing Home of Dr. S. Ghosh Dastidar is somewhat unique. A boy child of one Mr. Amit Banerjee was born. A so-called "successful" Chartered Accountant Mr. Banerjee, aged 45, is now father of a son. He is a divorcee and perhaps doesn't know, and surely doesn't bother about the 'mother' of that son. The doctor arranged for the ovum cell needed, either from a voluntary donor, or purchased that for his client. A 'surrogate mother' was hired too, otherwise who would bear that baby! The father spent all the money needed to become, what was his aim, 'the biological father' of a son. He didn't like the far 'cheaper' idea of adopting a child. He wanted his own 'biological' or 'genetically his own' child; and that too without marrying again, or without coming into any social relationship whatsoever with any woman. He purchased all he needed . He has money, hasn't he? Why should he bother! If only John Lennon of the Beatles fame were alive today! He would then have to revise his lyric "Money Can't Buy Me Love" . And Pink Floyd guys can now insert a new line or two about the 'power' of money in the number " Money " of their first album "The Dark Side Of The Moon".
Some eminent lawyers and jurists had found some problematic, legal and/or ethical, in this case; and some doctors too expressed confusions, as per reports in ABP. The ABP reporter Ms. Soma though didn't quoted them except one. Advocate Mr. G. Mukherjee said that the 'father' Mr. A. Banerjee cannot claim that baby legally to be his own, that 'father' needs to adopt that 'son', and otherwise transfer of property by hereditary claim will be a problem. Others expressed that the baby has the right to have a social status, and the latter is curtailed without the knowledge of who his mother is. The 'father' has no right whatsoever to curb or deny that right of that baby.
The doctor S. Ghosh Dastidar just brushed aside all such problems as pointless to him. Even the aspect of a baby missing its "mother's care" is not at all a problem to him. Such Legal / Ethical / Moral issues are, according to him, outside the ambit or jurisdiction of the noble profession of the disciples of Hippocrates. He countered the last mentioned issue with a question, "What happen to those babies whose mothers die in the process of giving birth of babies?" His client had a Medical problem, or limitation , and he solved that - its just that simple (!).
The media giant ABP, who owns 2 Star Network TV Channels and whose sales of dailies are nearing 2 millions, congratulated this event. They wrote an editorial piece on 6 TH October issue with the title - PRATHAM PURUSH EK BACHAN or First Person Singular Number . It is to be noted that "first person" is, in pro Sanskrit languages, "Pratham Purush " i.e., first male , and not "Pratham Byakti ". The said first (male) person has, according to archliberal ABP, his own personal freedom or right of having a biological baby without himself coming into relation with any person of the opposite sex. The present society, in keeping with the ideology / axiology of ABP, may be yet not free to accept that with its age-old value system, but that doesn't matter. Society will have to, and must, adjust itself and its values with the development of science and technology, and that happened many times in the history. ... Thus Spake ABP !!!
Thus Spake ABP (!!) - though 'conservative' Sir T. S. Elliot would certainly not have liked to write a poetry on this 'novel' theme! The archliberal media giant ABP just refrained from speaking their deeper 'truth', or their major value-axiom: In The Final Analysis Everything Is Commodity & The Market Rules The World !!! Mr. A. Banerjee, the father and Dr. Ghosh Dastidar, the doctor, both, with their pride and arrogance, subscribe to this. And who not!
The male-dominated class societies clamped down the rule of "Virginity" and "Chastity" on women, to become sure of transfer of their divine right , 'personal property' through male-side hereditary lines. "Personal Property" is an inviolable and inalienable right in class societies, which in turn, essentially ennobles, and itself based upon, Personal Property. The State took the responsibility of taking care of that "Right". And everybody took it for granted. And everybody took granted axiomatically the laws of chastity and virginity of womenfolk. In the Hindu Myths of Ramayana, Sita, the reincarnation of goddess Lakshmi, was not spared from proving her chastity after being 'won' back from Ravana, wasn't it? Woman in India is still obligated to give their identity as daughter of / wife of some male - this is reflected in the ID card issued by the Election Commission or in her Passport; though the Supreme Court once said that giving mother's name would do. Surnames of women change after marriage, in the developed west too. Technically, however, a society based on 'sacred' private property and commodity exchange can well function capitalistically all the same if female-based hereditary lines and matriarchy are taken instead of patriarchy. But male-dominated family, private property, and state are cognate trio and are interconnected historically, so that hypothesis is contrary to the ruling social "ethos" or time-honoured and esteemed 'traditions' .
Anyway, capitalist logic leaves at least some 'space' to fulfil a few egalitarian demands of the womenfolk, but always the women needed to battle for each piece of reform in capitalist, semi-capitalist societies. And meanwhile, capitalism goes on commodifying almost everything under the sun. The technology of test-tube baby production was also used to that end. Surrogate mothers came to help not only for those having problems in the ovary, but also for those who needed their wife to escape the burden of 'child bearing', the 'bad' belly-shapes, some curtailment of personal 'freedom' for the special and important task of reproduction of society , etc! When the Bony M. recorded their number "Love For Sale " they didn't know that very soon would come such days when they would have "Mothers For Sale" in the US markets. And the almighty Market would provide with hired 'breast-feeders', hired 'mother cum governess', etcetera. In the latest rung of thathistory-ladder we have this "father's son sans mother" in Calcutta . "............ who's the mother! You're born with the help of a hired proxy mother out of my sperm cells and a bought ovum cell !" -- perhaps the proud father will tell that son later.
Reproductive technology under capitalism, a few years back, has shown that a mother can produce a daughter without any 'father' by "Cloning" Technology. We all know the name of the famous English female-lamb Dolly, and things that happened in this row afterwards. Capitalism made basic human relations, including love, an absurdity! And now it has shown what was its potential: a baby without a mother, rather with hired motherhood! Human dignity, passion, love, ... ... all human relations and humanism per se were all thrown to the waste bin to give place to humanoid-commodities. The spiritual-intellectual inner self of Human is sneered at; man-made Technology aided Capitalism wants us to believe that Homo Sapiens is just another species of the Animal Kingdom, who, by genetic arrangements and hormonal secretions, has sexual desires and other animal instincts, engages in sexual affair like any other mammals or insects or etc, and human reproduction is just a bio-technical affair devoid of any human passions; "haven't we proved that by artificial reproduction in our labs?"! Now, only commodities remain, either 'live' or 'inanimate' commodities -- all goods and services for sale. In The Final Analysis Everything Is Commodity & The Market Rules The World !!! At the beginning of history of male-dominated societies women were turned into household 'slaves', dasi, and some others into prostitutes; the body of the women were for 'enjoyment', she was supposed to be at the service of her 'husband' and the family; and in some cases they were turned into a commodity, bar-banita, to be enjoyed against some payment. At this stage of history, the woman, womanhood, her 'self', everything are cut into pieces, torn up; and now her pieces, ovum, ovary, motherood, etc pieces, are all 'for sale'!
How long the womenfolk and humanity will bear such insults inflicted by class societies, and lastly, by this ugly capitalism - which has distorted and extracted out humanity from human beings!
PS: 1. Later newspaper sources revealed that an erergetic queue has formed including foreign candidates to have their babies thus manufactured in Calcutta . 2. A well-informed source pointed out that the most throbbing busuness of hiring out overies in India is going on in Ram-sevak Modi's Gujrat.
Comments:
| Name- | ARAVIND |
|---|---|
| Comment- | Hi It is almost impossible for a single father to adopt a child in India. Getting child custody after divorce is also impossiblE. I dont understand what the hell is your problem. |