The story of the 13 Filipinas pardoned in Cambodia after being convicted of illegal surrogacy is, at first glance, a story of individual choices gone wrong. But to frame it solely as such is to miss the far more important, and deeply troubling, systemic failures that created the conditions for this outcome.

First, let’s dispense with the simplistic narratives. The Cambodian court’s initial judgment of human trafficking, while legally grounded, lacks crucial nuance. These women weren’t running a trafficking ring. They were, in the vast majority of cases, driven by economic desperation.

No, we are not excusing their actions, but are trying to understand them. It’s a matter of acknowledging the structural forces at play, the background conditions that make such choices seem, however tragically, like the only options available.

Second, the global landscape of surrogacy is a policy patchwork, a chaotic mix of legal and illegal practices that creates arbitrage opportunities for those willing to exploit them.

In some parts of the United States (like California) and Canada (Ontario and British Columbia), surrogacy is legal and regulated, providing a framework for intended parents and surrogate mothers to navigate the process with some degree of protection.

But these are the exceptions. In many other countries, like India, Thailand, and, until recently, Cambodia, bans on commercial surrogacy have only fueled the black market.

Meanwhile, nations like Ukraine and Georgia have become hubs for “reproductive tourism,” attracting international clients with lax regulations and lower costs, often at the expense of the surrogate mothers’ well-being.

The regulatory fragmentation is a core problem. It creates a race to the bottom, where intended parents seek out the jurisdictions with the fewest restrictions and the lowest costs, often with little regard for the welfare of the surrogate mothers.

The core issue revolves around the commodification of reproductive labor. Surrogacy, at its heart, involves the exchange of money for the use of a woman’s body to carry and deliver a child. At the center are ethical questions about bodily autonomy, exploitation, and the potential for coercion, particularly when there is a significant power imbalance between the intended parents and the surrogate mother.

The fact that this exchange often crosses national borders, involving individuals from vastly different economic and social backgrounds, only exacerbates these issues. It’s tempting to focus on the individual actors in this drama: the intended parents, the surrogate mothers, the brokers who facilitate the transactions.

Still, a truly systemic analysis requires us to look beyond individual culpability and examine the broader forces at work.

The demand for surrogacy is driven by a complex mix of factors, including infertility (The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 6 people globally experience difficulties in having children), changing social norms around family formation, and the availability of assisted reproductive technologies.

The supply is driven by economic inequality and the lack of viable economic alternatives for many women in developing countries. What, then, is the solution? There are no easy answers, but a few key points are crucial.

We need international cooperation to establish minimum standards for surrogacy, prioritizing the rights and well-being of surrogate mothers. There must be, at all levels, informed consent, adequate compensation, access to healthcare and legal protection.

Ultimately, the exploitation inherent in many surrogacy arrangements is a symptom of deeper economic inequalities. We need a more nuanced public conversation about the ethical implications of surrogacy. The conversation should involve all stakeholders, including intended parents, surrogate mothers, ethicists and policymakers.

Let’s be very clear, the pardon granted by Cambodia to the 13 Filipinas is a welcome act of mercy. But it’s also a stark reminder of the deep inequalities that force women to make impossible choices amid reproductive colonialism, where the bodies of women in the Global South are exploited to fulfill the desires of the Global North.