bjbjLULU JUDY WOODRUFF: And to another in our film project collaboration with The Economist
magazine to take us places we don't ordinarily go. Tonight, the filmmakers Rebecca Haimowitz
and Vaishali Sinha come from the United States and India. Together, they weave a very human
story that crosses international boundaries. It's about an American couple, Lisa and Brian
Switzer, who travel halfway around the world to fulfill their dream of having a baby. A
reproductive outsourcing company matches them with an Indian surrogate mother named Aasia.
Her last name isn't given to protect her her identity. Here is an excerpt now from "Made
in India." LISA SWITZER, San Antonio, Texas: You know, a woman a lot of times defines herself
by her ability to have children. I just can't imagine being without kids. I wanted to be
a mother since I was about 25 years old, and here I am turning 40. I have been trying for
seven years to get pregnant. And it hasn't been an easy task by anybody's stretch of
the imagination. We don't really have the luxury of waiting or the luxury of seeing
if there's other alternatives. This is something that's -- this is our one and final shot.
When I went to the gynecological oncologist, he did a biopsy on my uterus. I was really
shocked. They were just, like, we want to do a hysterectomy, you know? We -- right now,
you're pre-cancerous. And my doctor was just, like, I know you want this, and I will leave
your ovaries there, but your uterus has got to come out. That was just -- that was...
BRIAN SWITZER, San Antonio, Texas: That was a hard day that day... LISA SWITZER: That
was... BRIAN SWITZER: ... when I told her they wanted to take the uterus out, because
that was -- that was them saying, you will never carry a child. So that's when we starting
looking at surrogacies. LISA SWITZER: I don't have a surrogate. I don't -- you know, I can't
afford a surrogate. They want $25,000 to $35,000 just for the mother. My best friend, Jennifer,
sent me an article about couples going to India to do IVF and surrogacy. I found PlanetHospital.
RUDY RUPAK, PlanetHospital: I'm the co-founder of PlanetHospital. And what we do is, we help
people get affordable health care from around the world, including surrogacies. Yes, yes,
sure. OK. Bye. Bye. It was going to happen anyways with or without us. I just want to
put the same quality of protection and comfort and safety in surrogacy as I have been doing
on everything else that we do medically. Yes. Hi. It's Rudy. Hello. It's Rudy. We have all
the answers, I mean, the whole process, from, you know, which surrogate clinician they go
to, all the way to, you know, what's our legal problems and how do I bring my babies back?
If the surrogate changes their mind and wants to keep the baby, what's the legal recourse?
Is this considered baby-buying, or is it legitimately surrogacy? LISA SWITZER: Five hundred dollar
advertising for the surrogate. The preparation of the surrogate and embryo transfer stage
is $2,500, because they have to do all her drugs to get her caught up with me and ready
to receive a baby. And then the IVF is $500. The surrogate actually gets $7,000 for her
carrying our baby. This woman is carrying a life that I can't carry. She's giving me
the family I can't create. You know, I will never, never be able to thank her enough.
AASIA, surrogate mother (through translator): What should I say about myself? I used to
clean people's homes before. I'm not educated. I don't know how to read or write. So this
is my life. I have had three children. All my children were born normally. I have never
done anything of this sort. My sister-in-law, Sanno, had told me about it, but I didn't
believe her, that this can happen with medication. Now, how should I say it? A child without
a man. (LAUGHTER) AASIA: How could a child be conceived without a man? When there's a
relationship, only then can... (LAUGHTER) AASIA (through translator): That day was kind
of good. Suddenly, I found out that I was pregnant. I was happy. LISA SWITZER: No freaking
way. BRIAN SWITZER: What? LISA SWITZER: Congratulations? Yes! (LAUGHTER) LISA SWITZER: We got a baby.
We got a baby. BRIAN SWITZER: We did it. LISA SWITZER: We got a baby. We got a baby. (LAUGHTER)
BRIAN SWITZER: I told you. MAN: With low cost and high quality, medical tourism is a trend
that's likely to grow. MAN: The lay press has been interviewing couples who got babies
from here, and putting out photographs of these couples with babies in American newspapers
and magazines. So this has sort of really given the whole thing a big boost. We have
new companies. Like, you know, every month, we have a new inquiry, a new medical tourism
company. Suddenly, we are seeing a whole lot of patient reference from North America coming
down to India. N.B. SAROJINI, Sama Resource Group for Women and Health: There are many,
many surrogate women. We don't know what is happening to them, and the particular diet
and the particular regime, when to go, what to do, you know? Suppose if she has a miscarriage.
What will happen? And we have a lot of questions. The focus for Sama is the larger framework.
You know, what is the role by the commissioning parents or the intended couple, whatever we
call them? What is the role of the state? Our demand was, they should understand the
fact that the surrogate mother has a bodily integrity and an autonomy. BRIAN SWITZER:
I started showing my co-workers the "Today Show" website. They got this section here
called discuss. What do you think? And I thought, oh, well, let's see what everybody else thinks.
And the first two started out very nice. You know, what's the legal status, you know, is
there any immigration issues, things of that nature. And then it got ugly. People started
saying things like the use of surrogates is a disgusting and immoral practice to begin
with, but then to farm it out like cheap labor to women in India, we should be disgusted
and ashamed. And then you get the, oh, hey, it's all about saving money, you know? What
about adopting? There were more people telling us, you should have adopted. You should have
adopted. Well, that's placing the entire orphan issue on the shoulders of infertile couples.
By their argument, anybody who has ever proactively tried to get pregnant together and succeeded
and had their own children has robbed an orphan of a loving home, plain and simple. So don't
place that burden on the infertile couples out there. And what kills me is everybody
screaming about the surrogacy issue. Oh, it's a baby mill, you know, it's a puppy farm.
And it's not. I felt I had to defend Lisa and I, as well as every other non-Indian that's
going to India to have this done. So here's what I wrote to all these people that were
just spewing this hateful talk: "The surrogates are well-compensated in line with their local
economy. I have seen poverty unlike anything I could have imagined. And knowing what this
process is going to do for the surrogate and her family in the long run makes me realize
that this is a very good thing for all parties involved." AASIA (through translator): The
contract had details about payment and the child would go to them, that you should have
no right to it, and that later you shouldn't change your mind, like some women do, because
their hearts melt as they think, no, I will not give the child. That shouldn't happen.
So, I said, no, that won't happen. They just said that this is how much the payment will
be. They told me $2,000. I'm doing this for my children. A son can earn anywhere, but
I want to save this for my daughter. JUDY WOODRUFF: Aasia gave birth to twin girls.
And after navigating some legal hurdles, Brian and Lisa brought them home to Texas. "Made
in India" is being screened at film festivals here in the U.S. and abroad. You may find
a link on our website for a list of dates and cities. Tomorrow, special correspondent
Fred de Sam Lazaro explores the ethical questions surrounding international surrogacy. h_KG
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