The Empathy Trap

The Empathy Trap

From Subject To Power by Elle Kamihira

April 15, 2026 · 1h 14m · Season 4 · Episode 59

About this episode

This episode explores the ethical implications and motivations behind the surrogacy industry, featuring guest Lexi Ellingsworth.

In 2026 the global surrogacy industry will grow to over 30 billion dollars. The manufacturing plants and raw materials that make this massive business possible are women's bodies, and the products being bought and sold are human babies. This hugely profitable industry can only exist if a subset of women offer themselves up for highly invasive, completely unnatural, risky, and life-altering medical procedures resulting in pregnancy and birth, or alternatively “egg-harvesting” - all with little to no legal protection or oversight. What motivates women to become surrogate mothers? What motivates women to have their eggs extracted for other women to “use”? What and who are the drivers behind the normalization of surrogacy? We know that money plays a big part, both for the surrogate mothers and to the chain of people who profit from this human trade - the surrogacy agencies, doctors, clinics, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry - what we might call Big Fertility - but there are other factors at play besides money. Guest on this episode, founder of Stop Surrogacy Now UK, Lexi Ellingsworth, has been investigating surrogacy and campaigned against surrogacy law reform in the UK for 7…

People in this episode

Host: Elle Kamihira

Guest: Lexi Ellingsworth

Topics covered

  • surrogacy
  • ethics
  • women's rights
  • medical procedures
  • fertility industry

Keywords

  • surrogacy
  • egg-harvesting
  • fertility
  • women's bodies
  • ethical questions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stop Surrogacy Now UK

Places: UK

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