Woman Between Islam and Western Society
4. The Problems Facing Modern Civilization
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contract with Mary Beth Whitehead for $ 20,000 to
carry their child. Mr. Stern’s sperm was then
injected into her womb, resulting in the birth of a
baby girl. After carrying the child in her womb for
nine months, her motherly instinct was aroused.
She refused to hand over the child to the Stern
couple. This case was taken to the court which
decreed the handing over of the baby to Mr. Stern
in view of the contract. After having won the case,
Mr. Stern came with five policemen to Mrs.
Whithead, who had already escaped through the
back door with the child. However she was later
traced to another town and finally the child was
delivered to the Sterns.
Such cases have set out ethical arguments in the
U.S. on the matter of surrogacy. The Bishop of New
Jersey commented: Surrogacy exploits a child as a
commodity and exploits a woman as a baby-maker.’
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The woman who bears a child for another person
suffers severe psychological complexes. One such
woman, by the name of Elizabeth Kane, said: “I
miss my baby. I had to suppress those feelings for
years.” The unnatural concept of sexual freedom
results in unnatural problems, the above case being
