Outsourcing's Final Frontier?

Outsourcing. It's a dirty word for most of us. In my line of work, computer programming, it's a dirty word on the highest level. Face it, if you don't have special skills or qualifications, you face the risk of having your job outsourced.

But it's not just that. It's calling customer support for your laptop and getting a man named "Peggy" on the phone, speaking the worst kind of broken English, and providing no help whatsoever.

The other day I was driving to work and heard a commercial that made me do a double-take. I had to hear the commercial a second time to make sure that I heard it right. I had heard it right.

There is a company called Surrogacy Abroad (website here) that offers surrogate mother services in...wait for it...INDIA.

Surrogacy in India has become an increasingly popular alternative for Americans. The laws for surrogacy in India favor the intended parents more than the other countries. The cost for surrogacy in India is roughly a third of what it costs in the U.S. Also, the range of treatment options available is broad and at the forefront of art technology. Surrogacy in India offers a unique opportunity for discretion, which would be difficult to achieve in the U.S.

Wait, what?

Has outsourcing reached the level of reductio ad absurdum? We're outsourcing....childbirth?!?!?

Beam me up, Scotty. There is no intelligent life on this planet.