Michael Cook at BioEdge writes that what happens in bioethics in the U.S., Britain, and Australia is worth watching because similar policies are then often adopted in other countries throughout the world. He writes, “These countries have high-quality medical technology, but unsophisticated bioethics. As a consequence they tend to adopt a utilitarian ethic without a robust debate informed by a more metaphysical tradition and by respect for human rights.”  His case in point:

One example of this is a bill being considered by India’s parliament which will legalise commercial surrogacy. The groundwork was laid by a report written by the India Law Commission last year. It was fairly sketchy and very liberal. But the bill ignored its key point – that surrogacy should not be commercialised. If the bill passes in its present form, poor Indian women will be exploited as wombs for hire. The provisions of the bill which protect the rights of these unfortunate women do not inspire confidence.

One group he suspects will likely benefit from this commerce?  Same-sex couples.

I wonder at this.  The last time I checked, few international adoption agencies were willing to consider same-sex couples for adoptive parenting.  It seems an odd “market” for Cook to identify.