A decolonial surrogacy? A tripartite-hybrid model

Some may dismiss the prospect of a decolonial transnational surrogacy as a contradiction in terms. After all, there is a parasitic takeover and expansion of the foetus into the host’s body; and the labour is often extracted by those in the global north from those in the global south on exploitative terms. However, I claim that a decolonial surrogacy is not necessarily a misnomer nor unimaginable. To either ban surrogacy entirely or allow it fully under the current system falls into the trap of discussing binaries within limited frameworks that decolonialism seeks to resist. I argue that, if there is to be a decolonial surrogacy, it entails a different system altogether. As such, I present a ‘tripartite-hybrid’ model to decolonise surrogacy: an expanded relational unit, basic services, and targeting multiple norm-based hierarchies. While requiring fundamental changes to current conceptions of family and to broader social structures, the proposals together are ways to deal with the ‘ontological difference’ (limki, 2018) in surrogacy and to meet decolonial feminist aims. If, and only if, these requirements are met, is a decolonial surrogacy possible.