HERE I AM

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HERE I AM

JUŻ JESTEM

By Edward POREMBNY

AMP POLSKA - as PROD

Documentary - Completed 2011

A surrogate mother who changed her mind and an infertile couple are about to go to court to fight for the child.

- Year of production
- 2011
- Genres
- Documentary
- Countries
- POLAND
- Languages
- POLISH
- Budget
- 0.3 - 0.6 M$
- Duration
- 70 mn
- Director(s)
- Edward POREMBNY
- Writer(s)
- Edward POREMBNY
- Producer(s)
- Jerzy DZIEGIELEWSKI (HBO)
- Synopsis
- Surrogate Mother – a method of reproduction whereby a woman agrees to become pregnant and deliver a child for a contracted party. She may be the child's genetic mother (the most common form of surrogacy), or she may, as a gestational carrier, carry the pregnancy to delivery after having been implanted with an embryo, in some jurisdictions an illegal medical procedure.
  
  These are definitions. But behind them stands a developing business in Poland and Central Europe. Until recently, surrogacy had been the preserve of prosperous US or Western European citizens. Everything changed when capitalism, and what went along with it - a richer society - appeared within the countries of the ex-communist block. In Poland only, over one million couples are infertile. Their only hope to have a child is by in-vitro fertilization process. If this method let them down, adoption or surrogate motherhood are their only options.
  
  Couples trying in-vitro fertilization have usually gone through many attempts to have a child. They are desperate to have children and are ready to do anything to reach their goal. They come from various social backgrounds. In Poland, they may be an intellectual couple teaching at Cracow University, a famous couple making headlines, or peasants from the Masuria region. Even though in-vitro is not allowed by the catholic church, a huge number of catholic couples still opt for this method, being perfectly aware of the risk of beeing exposed to criticism, misunderstanding, and knowing that society will be scandalized at the birth of
  children conceived in-vitro. In most European countries infertility is recognized as an illness. The costs of its treatment is then covered by the public health sector. This is not the case in Poland where one has to pay for everything, even if the treatment takes place in a public hospital or clinic.
  
  The costs of treatment in Poland is high: an average couple pays from 2,500 to 4,000 EURO for one cycle of in-vitro fertilization (when the average monthly income is of 650 euros), keeping in mind that there are only 35% chance that a baby will be born alive out of the first cycle. Despite this, there are plenty of couples who take a bank loan, sell their car, or even their apartment to try achieve their dream.
  But what happens when in-vitro fertilization does not work? And explained above, this is often the case, and the only options left are then adoption or surrogacy, a very controvertial practice in Poland and in many European countries. Most couples don’t wish or can‘t adopt, and if they aren’t able to afford a surrogate mother, or morally, ethically, or in any other way don’t approve of this practice, they are simply left childless, and often their marriage falls apart.