Paris Hilton made headlines again by welcoming her baby girl London via surrogacy. Surrogacy can be used by couples who biologically cannot conceive, but it has become controversial due to its perception as renting wombs and separating babies from mothers to fulfill the desires of women who wish to not go through the natural process of pregnancy and birth themselves.

Paris Hilton is among many celebrities who have gone through the process of surrogacy. In previous interviews, Hilton has stated that her reason for not wanting to go through birth is due to trauma and fear of childbirth. While new life is precious and exciting, the ordeal that both the birth mother and baby suffer after birth must be a topic of high priority to be discussed.

Them Before Us, an advocacy organization for children’s rights, outlines the damage that surrogacy unnecessarily creates. The organization argues that children have a right to life, their mother and father, and to be born free, not bought and sold. Surrogacy violates all three rights. Removing a newborn baby from his or her mother permanently alters the structures of the brain and can create future problems such as attachment issues, depression, and difficulties with relationships.

Another concern with surrogacy is the rental of a woman’s womb. Surrogacy guarantees a surrogate mother an all-expense-paid pregnancy plus an additional payment that could be as much as $65K or more. Most surrogacy agencies do not require a woman be financially secure before agreeing to become a surrogate. This means that some women will consider surrogacy for the money.

Paris Hilton’s fear of childbirth is a common theme among women in our culture. The way pregnancy and childbirth are depicted in the media is inaccurate and plants seeds of fear and doubt among women. Women heading into pregnancy without knowledge of gestation and birth are more likely to follow the over-medicalized process most OBGYNs offer. The lack of knowledge coupled with the over-medicalization of pregnancy and birth leave women fearing a process that she was created to perfectly manage.

While the desire to have children is natural, the way in which surrogacy fulfills this desire is not. Surrogacy is part of a larger trend in our culture that puts the needs and desires of adults before children. Our culture has placed children as an afterthought when they should be the priority. Children are not accessories for adults to show off within their social circles. Babies should not be selected via catalogues and order forms. Adults should not intentionally create primal wounds in children by removing them from their mothers. This is cruel, unnatural, and incredibly selfish.