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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

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Programme examining the ideas and forces which shape public policy in Britain and abroad.

Programme examining the ideas and forces which shape public policy in Britain and abroad, presented by distinguished writers, journalists and academics.

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Analysis: Is ethical surrogacy possible?

10/10/2022

Is ethical surrogacy possible?

BBC Radio 4 - Analysis, Is ethical surrogacy possible?

Is surrogacy the commercialisation of a woman's body or the greatest gift she can give?

Sonia Sodha asks whether surrogacy is the ultimate commercialisation of a woman's body or the greatest gift a woman can give.

Does becoming a surrogate mother exploit or empower a woman?  UK surrogacy law is under review, and there's a renewed debate around how it should be regulated. The war in Ukraine highlighted this, as the spotlight shone on the surrogate mothers, the babies they'd given birth to, and the overseas parents struggling to collect 
the newborns.  In the UK the numbers of children born through surrogacy are still relatively small but they're expected to rise, not just because of medical infertility but also as more gay  male couples and single men look to have their own biological children.  For some surrogacy is extremely contentious, for others it's life changing.  Sonia Sodha asks whether surrogacy is the ultimate commercialisation of a woman's body or whether it's the greatest gift a woman can give.

Producer Caroline Bayley
Editor Clare Fordham
Sound Engineer: Rod Farquhar
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Helena Warwick-Cross

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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Is ethical surrogacy possible?

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