The famous, or should I say infamous, Dr.Yahiro Netsu who advocates surrogate births is under the spotlight again, after having publicly called for volunteer surrogate mothers on Friday, 13th April. Surrogate births are banned by The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, to which Netsu belongs. “I want to call for people who want to lend assistance to couples like this, and create a system to help couples who want to have children,” he said in a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday. This move spurred from his frustration of the fact that Japanese couples -who have no relatives willing to lend their wombs- can’t help but go look overseas. His “we want your womb campaign” has already started to bear fruits, as 8 women volunteered for surrogacy today, 14th April.

However, Netsu is facing harsh criticism from the detractors of surrogate births, who defend their claims stating that this process threatens the life of surrogate mothers, and that it could possibly lead to women’s bodies viewed as tools. So far, all surrogate births performed in Japan, involved the mother or the sister of one of the parents.
it seems like using a stranger’s womb for your fetus doesn’t sound appealing to some!