—An Inside Look at the Lives of Women Who Are Carrying Babies as Surrogates for Gay Couples, Single Men and Infertile Couples—
A surprising — and booming — industry has emerged in Boise, Idaho. In this idyllic, all-American city, nurses, nail technicians and stay-at-home mothers are choosing to become paid reproductive surrogates for people from around the world.
“Made In Boise” goes inside the lives of four of them as they build relationships with the intended parents, prepare for the rigors of pregnancy and navigate the mixed feelings of their own families, who struggle to understand their choice to risk the physical and emotional complications of carrying babies for someone else.
“Made In Boise” opens the new season of INDEPENDENT LENS Monday, Oct. 28, 2019 on KPBS TV, PBS.org and the PBS Video App.
As the number of surrogate births surge across the country, an epicenter of the movement is Boise, Idaho, with its large population of healthy women of reproductive age and a significant number of Mormon and Catholic communities who value large families.
In Boise, it is estimated that one in 15 mothers will carry a baby for a stranger at some point in her life.
For gay couples, single men and those who struggle with infertility, this industry — outlawed in many countries around the world — is often the last resort to biological parenthood.
Legal in some states and illegal in others, a number of states, including Idaho, have no laws governing surrogacy on their books.
Each of the women in the film — Nicole, Chelsea, Cindy and Sammie — arrives at the decision to become a surrogate for her own reasons.
Nicole and her husband have two children and run Idaho’s largest surrogacy agency, which works with the other surrogates in the film. Nicole “loves being pregnant” and is in the midst of her fourth surrogate pregnancy when the film opens.
Stay-at-home mom Chelsea has four children of her own and sees surrogacy as a way to process the stillbirth she suffered eight years ago.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurse Cindy is one of the many nurses who become surrogates at St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center to help the unique families coming through the local hospital. A single mother with two biological and three adopted children, she becomes a surrogate for the first time at age 42.
Sammie, a 26-year-old nail technician and single mother, looks forward to the second income she otherwise wouldn’t have. But her friends and family are apprehensive about her choice.
“Using humor and pathos, director Beth Aala shares deeply personal stories about one the most intimate aspect of our lives — how we create family,” said Lois Vossen, Executive Producer of INDEPENDENT LENS. “Surrogacy is complex, and ‘Made in Boise’ balances issues like ethics, health risks to the carrier and what constitutes parenthood in this growing phenomenon. The film asks us individually to answer a fundamental question: what defines a family?”
Watch On Your Schedule:
This episode will be available simultaneously with the broadcast for streaming on demand for a limited time. Extend your viewing window with KPBS Passport, video streaming for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.
Join The Conversation:
INDEPENDENT LENS is on Facebook, Instagram, and you can follow @IndependentLens on Twitter. #IndieLensPBS
"Made In Boise" is on Facebook.
Credits:
Directed by Beth Aala. Produced by Beth Aala and Beth Levison. Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer and Lois Vossen. Story Producer: Alex Pitz. Directors of Photography: Beth Aala and Jenni Morello. Edited by Jen Fineran. Music by Melisa McGregor. Presented by ITVS, the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
