Putting it on sale doesn't make it right.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with the point.

On Black Friday, Biotexcom, a Ukrainian surrogacy company,

offered a special deal, 3% off, your next baby.

According to the ad, the discount could be applied

to hiring a Ukrainian woman as a surrogate mother,

to IVF, or whatever mixture thereof.

If the name Biotexcom sounds familiar, it's the same agency that was saddled with nearly

a hundred stranded babies in a Kiev hotel to be cared for by a handful of nurses back at

the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

That happened because the babies legally belonged to wealthy Western couples who couldn't pick

them up because of travel restrictions. The baby's Ukrainian mothers weren't allowed to care for the babies legally belong to wealthy Western couples who couldn't pick them up because of travel

restrictions. The baby's Ukrainian mothers weren't allowed to care for the babies after their

birth. They weren't their property anymore. Look, both that situation and this tacky Black

Friday discount illustrates something crucial. Whatever it is that feels icky about 3% off a new

baby is still there if it's full price. Clever marketing can't change.

That industrialized assisted reproduction turns women's bodies and babies into commodities.

Not only on Black Friday, but every other day, too.

I'm John Stone Street.