Youknowthedrill—allittakesisonesperm,oneegg,andblammo—you’vegotyourselfababy.Right?Well,inthis2015episode,conceptiontakesonanewform—it’sthespermandtheegg,plus:twowombs,fourcountries,andmoney.Lotsofmoney. 

ThisisthestoryofanIsraelicouple,twomen,whogotoanothercontinenttogetthemselvesababy—three,infact—byhiringsurrogatestocarrythechildrenforthem.Aswefollowthemontheirjourney,anearth-shakingrevelationshiftsourfocusfromthemtothesurrogatemothers.Unfoldinginrealtime,ascountriesaroundtheworldconsideredbansonsurrogacy,thisepisodelookedatarelationshipthatmanagestofeeldeeplyaffectinganddeeplyuncomfortableatthesametime. 

“Birthstory”isacollaborationwiththebrilliantradioshowandpodcastIsraelStory,createdtotellstoriesfor,andabout,Israel.Gocheck‘emout!(https://zpr.io/rX3DazcJiUUG) 

IsraelStory'sfiveEnglish-languageseasonswereproducedinpartnershipwithTabletMagazine(https://zpr.io/HxYET7psAbPh)andwehighlyrecommendyoulistentoalloftheirworkat(https://zpr.io/HD3LSqq25LEx) 

ThisepisodewasproducedandreportedbyMollyWebster.

Specialthanksgoto:IsraelStory,andtheirproducersMayaKosover,andYochaiMaital;reportersNilanjanaBhowmickinIndiaandBhrikutiRaiinNepalplustheInternationalReportingProject(https://zpr.io/KxN7etFiqWHL);DoronMamet,DrNayanaPatel,andVickiFerrara;withtranslationhelpfromAyaKeefe,KarthikRavindra,TurnaRay,TomWasserman,PradeepThapa,andAdhikaar(https://zpr.io/MDyadskgwZtH),anorganizationinRidgewood,QueensadvocatingfortheNepali-speakingcommunity. 

AudioExtra:

TalandAirhadachancetomeeteachsurrogateonce-justafterthedeliveries,afterallthepaperworkwassortedout,andbeforeanyoneleftNepal.AsAmirsays,theywantedtosay"abigthankyou."Thesemeetingsbetweenintendedparents,surrogate,andnewbabiesareatraditionalpartofthesurrogacyprocessinIndiaandNepal,andweheardreportsfromthesurrogatesthattheyalsolookforwardtothem.Thesemomentsdonotstigmatize,revealtheidentityof,orendangerthesurrogates.TalandAmirprovidedtheaudioforthiswebextra.

EPISODECREDITS: Reportedby-MollyWebsterwithhelpfrom-MayaKosover,YochaiMaital,BhrikutiRai