Sunday Digest | #009

What I am watching 👀, reading 📖, and listening 🎧 to on a Sunday.

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If you spend enough time on TikTok, you will eventually run into someone warning how the premise of “Handmaid’s Tale” is becoming a reality because of the end of Roe v. Wade. Interestingly enough, it appears that it is actually the religion of equity that is moving us towards practices and policies reminiscent of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

California Bill SB 729 aims to redefine the term "infertility" as a status rather than a medical condition. This would include individuals who are unable to reproduce without medical intervention. This change would classify gay men as infertile and require insurance companies to cover in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, including surrogacy for same-sex couples.

Supporters, including co-author Sen. Caroline Menjivar, argue that the bill promotes equality and comprehensive healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals. However, California business and insurance groups raise concerns about increased insurance premiums and the potential impact on the traditional family structure. Critics argue that the bill overlooks the needs and safety concerns of children involved in IVF and surrogacy arrangements.

I have long found surrogacy to be a problematic practice considering that it is typically people of means and status renting the wombs of women typically of a lower economic class.

Put aside the monetary strain that “equitable fertility” will put on insurance companies and businesses and how it can negatively affect the traditional family structure. What happens when “equitable fertility” is legislated as a right for everyone, drastically expanding who has a “right” to fertility, which will then result in a demand for surrogates, but there aren’t enough surrogates to supply the demand? Will they legislate a requirement for women to rent out their wombs? Will women then be guilted to rent out their wombs for the sake of the gay, trans, or non-binary couple in their town for the sake of equity? Also, how will this monetarily affect the women who are willing to be surrogates when you expand the market?

But yeah, it’s the right who is literally trying to make “The Handmaid’s Tale” a reality.

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