Paola Barale arrives in Ukraine. The showgirl, author of the book It’s not the end of the worldfocused on the topic of menopause, asked questions about another topic that sees women at the center of a universe of doubts: surrogate motherhood. To try to clarify them she set out on a journey in the company of the author of Hyenas, Gaston Zama, together with whom they pretended to be a couple with the aim of documenting as much as possible a very current and controversial topic. The service will be broadcast today in prime time on Italia Uno.
Paola, why did you go to Ukraine?
«Because we discovered that Ukraine is the country with the most births through the practice of gestation for others. It was an immersive experience that served me well. We left knowing the broad outline of things. The one we always talk about. With the desire to delve deeper. Except that while going there I had more doubts…”.
Which?
«When you experience the issue first-hand, you realize that it is a very long process and not yet fully protected. Which should be regulated. What I asked myself most, upon returning, is: with a regulatory framework like the current one, would I recommend it? In some respects yes, in others no. Maybe today I would prefer an adoption even if you then talk to people, like a friend of mine who has an eleven-year-old son born like this, and you realize that they are children like everyone else. He knows everything. He also knows and hangs out with the mother who carried him in her womb.”
Let’s start from a little further away. What do you prefer to call this practice: surrogacy, gestation for others or rented womb?
«I would call it gestation for others because I really don’t like a rented uterus. In reality, what I realised, in such a polarized debate, in which those who are against talk about the commodification of women’s bodies and those who are in favor of self-determination and women’s freedom to choose, the wrong thing to do is to judge without knowing. And that’s exactly what we wanted to do: try to learn without taking one position or the other, with the aim of providing the public with useful arguments to go deeper.”
How did you get to Ukraine?
«By plane to Warsaw and then by car. At the Ukrainian border another person came to pick us up and took us to Kiev along a very long road, without bends, with large fields on both sides where the signs of the war were visible. It was a strong experience. The first time I happened to travel to a country at war.”
Paradoxically to go and talk about life and not death…
“Exact. Because then life fortunately goes on. Science has made incredible progress, enabling even people who nature would not allow it to have children. In Ukraine there are numerous clinics which many Italian couples also turn to.”
How were you welcomed in the facilities?
«We have visited several. In some better, in others worse. Look at Le Iene!”».
Have you had contact with women who make themselves available?
«I spoke to three pregnant women: one in the eighth month, one in the seventh month, one in the ninth month. I understood that it is also a cultural and social fact. Suffice it to say that there are people, even women, who go to work in distant countries out of necessity, leave their young children and see them again after many years. In Italy we would struggle to do this, probably due to a different conception of the family.”
Have you had financial requests?
«We certainly also talked about costs. What is clear is that you cannot save money… There are various costs: for the pregnant woman, for the birth, for the documents. When I spoke to these women the first question that came to me was: do you feel a connection with this child? Then what happens after giving birth? We touched on many topics that were unknown to most people.”
How should Italy behave?
«I believe it is an issue that goes beyond politics. It has to do with individual rights and freedoms, of women and of children who are born. It needs to be explored in depth and requires honest, collective processing. I hope that with Le Iene we will be able to make our contribution.”
2023-12-19 19:25:00
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