PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsReviewsEvent Review: The Surrogacy Act

BioNews

Event Review: The Surrogacy Act

Published 10 January 2022 posted in Reviews and appears in BioNews 1127

Author

Anna Nelson

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis

At the start of December I attended The Surrogacy Act – an event hosted virtually by Modern Art Oxford...

At the start of December, I attended The Surrogacy Act – an event hosted virtually by Modern Art Oxford. The Surrogacy Act is the title of a new, interactive, online game developed by self-described playwright and game-maker Rhianna Illube, and researchers Zaina Mahmoud and Meera Somji, exploring the legal complexities of the UK's current (highly criticised) surrogacy law (see BioNews 1010), through the eyes of both surrogates and intended parents. At this event, attendees were not only given the chance to test out the game but also to learn about the research that underpinned it and the process of creating it.

Illube, Mahmoud and Somji reflected candidly on the potential concerns about the 'gamification' of a deeply personal and emotive topic like surrogacy. I use the term 'game' in this review for clarity – as this was the term used in the event description – but am inclined to agree that it could be beneficial to seek an alternative label.

Introducing the research that informed the game, Mahmoud provided a really comprehensive and accessible overview of the current legal regime, and the wider ethical issues associated with surrogacy – no mean feat given its complexity. Somji's presentation was more theoretical. She considered how surrogacy can be framed as labour or work, while recognising the nuances of the feminist debate on the matter.

Before being given access to the online game, we (the event attendees) participated in an interactive introductory exercise, facilitated through Zoom chat. This put us in the shoes of Taj and Kamilah, a couple who were seeking a surrogate through an app designed to connect intended parents with potential surrogates. We were shown a number of potential surrogate's profiles, and asked to consider whether we wanted to connect with them and to share our reasoning in the chat. This was incredibly useful as it allowed people to explore their own, and discover others' underlying preconceptions about what makes a 'good' surrogate. Reasons for rejecting candidates included the surrogate being too old, having no experience of pregnancy or wanting too 'intense' a relationship beyond the birth.

This interactive preamble was also an effective theatrical tool to help attendees get into the mindset of the intended parents. Were this game to become accessible outside of a facilitated event setting it would be beneficial to work out a way to incorporate this component.

This was followed by the opportunity to individually 'play' the game. This involved working through an interactive story by clicking on different links and making decisions on behalf of both the intended parents and the surrogate, with the ultimate aim of facilitating a successful surrogacy. The links either allowed you to make a decision and progress through the story, or provided information to help inform those decisions.

One thing which stood out was the extent to which the story at the centre of the game was grounded in the lived experiences of the surrogates that Mahmoud had interviewed. This was a real strength as conversations about surrogacy can so easily get lost in legalistic discussion; and where lived experience is missing from these discussions, space is created for misconceptions and biases to flourish.

You experienced the story as the intended parents and the surrogate concurrently; to move the game along you had to make decisions for both parties. This was clever, as it exposed some of the 'unspoken' tensions which exist between the desires of each party – and hidden concerns that each side had about upsetting the other. This was illustrated, for example, when a consultant in the story suggests the surrogate may want to consider a planned c-section and you (the 'player') were given the opportunity to explore the responses of the different parties in the game to this suggestion.

Playing through 'The Surrogacy Act' at the event, it struck me how effective a medium this was for exploring topics that are both legally complex and highly emotive. Firstly, the narrative aspect of the piece facilitated engagement with personal aspects of surrogacy, by allowing participants to 'experience' some of the frustrations and pitfalls associated with the law – as informed by Mahmoud's interviews with surrogates. At points, you wanted to access more information before making the 'decision' that moved you on to the next stage, but none was available. This was not an omission, rather it was a clever decision aimed at emphasising some of the 'clunkiness' of the current system, and reflecting the frustration felt by parties to a surrogacy about the lack of information available.

Secondly, the step-by-step nature of playable theatre provided an insight into how the surrogacy process would be experienced by surrogates and intended parents, and helped strengthen practical understanding of how the law works (or, doesn't!).

Finally, the piece offered wider reflections on societal perceptions about surrogacy. This was starkly illustrated when participants were asked to consider the expenses that we (as the surrogate) would ask for. Clicking on items such as 'prenatal massage' or 'maternity clothes' revealed concerns that this would lead to being viewed as 'money-grabbing'. As Mahmood explained, this demonstrates the 'cultural mismatch' between the media rhetoric of the 'greedy surrogate' and the reality that most surrogates are driven by a motivation to help others.

I also really liked that (spoiler alert!) no matter what choices were made in the game, every 'story' ended in a successful parental order. I agree with the creators that this is important to help dispel the 'horror story' myths about surrogacy going wrong that are rife in the media, but which, in practice are extremely rare.

'The Surrogacy Act' is engaging, informative and a great example of how effective it can be to think outside the box disseminating academic research. If anyone gets the chance to experience the piece for themselves, I strongly recommend they take it!

Sources and References

  • 08/12/2021
    YouTube
    The Surrogacy Act

Related Articles

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Reviews
13 June 2022 • 3 minutes read

Podcast Review: Happy Mum Happy Baby – Tom Daley

by Catherine Turnbull

Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley discusses his experience of parenthood and the challenges he faced starting a family as a gay man...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Comment
14 March 2022 • 4 minutes read

International surrogacy law: existing conflicts unresolved

by Louisa Ghevaert

The current conflict in Ukraine has drawn into sharp focus the myriad of problems that international surrogacy can throw up...

PET BioNews
Reviews
27 January 2022 • 4 minutes read

Film Review: The Secret Society

by Alison Motluk

The best aspect of the film is how it glimpses the many ripples created through 'third-party' reproduction...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Reviews
27 September 2021 • 4 minutes read

Book Review: You Got Anything Stronger?

by Zaina Mahmoud

When Gabrielle Union announced that her second tell-all book, You Got Anything Stronger?, would delve into her surrogacy journey, despite not personally being a fan of celebrity autobiographies, I must admit I was excited...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Reviews
27 September 2021 • 3 minutes read

Podcast Review: Surrogacy Abroad and in the UK

by Sylvie Armstrong

Hearing successes is, I think, just so powerful'. These are the words of Anna Buxton, a mother through surrogacy and interviewee on a Fertility Podcast episode...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Comment
25 June 2021 • 4 minutes read

Surrogacy law change: The UK needs to look across the pond

by Zaina Mahmoud

The long process of reforming surrogacy laws in the UK continues, with legislation expected from the Law Commission of England and Wales and Scottish Law Commission early next year...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Reviews
18 June 2021 • 4 minutes read

Film Review: The Surrogate

by Zaina Mahmoud

Jeremy Hersh's feature film debut, The Surrogate, is a powerful narrative on the complex relationships and choices involved in surrogacy...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Radio Review: Male Order

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
20 June 2022 • 5 minutes read

Documentary Review: Our Father

20 June 2022 • 4 minutes read

Podcast Review: How Far Could Genome Editing Go?

13 June 2022 • 3 minutes read

Podcast Review: Happy Mum Happy Baby – Tom Daley

13 June 2022 • 3 minutes read

Podcast Review: The Outlook – The shocking truth about my three dads

23 May 2022 • 4 minutes read

Documentary Review: Freezing Fertility

8 August 2022 • 4 minutes read

Podcast Review: Babbage – Editing the code of life

1 August 2022 • 3 minutes read

Podcast Review: Stories of Our Times – IVF, fraud and 'unwanted' children

25 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

TV Review: DNA Family Secrets – series two, episode six

18 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

TV Review: Spotlight – The babymaker uncovered

11 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

TV Review: DNA Family Secrets – series two, episode three

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856