Outsourcing Babies to India

Here's the story:

Reproductive tourism in India is now a half-a-billion-dollar-a-year industry, with surrogacy services offered in 350 clinics across the country since it was legalized in 2002. The primary appeal of India is that it is cheap, hardly regulated, and relatively safe. Surrogacy can cost up to $100,000 in the United States, while many Indian clinics charge $22,000 or less.

There is certainly some problems with the markets, such as buyers changing their minds and unforeseen health risks. But it seems most of the problems can be corrected by better and clearer contracts. And let's not forget that we don't all have the same choices or the same preferences. What seem like exploitation to one may be financial empowerment to another.

Hat tip to the Freakonomics blog.