A profile of three women carrying pregnancies after New York legalized paid surrogacy in 2021:
In the days following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, photos of herself with her IFs went viral on TikTok. Portia, who wore a long red dress, cradled her bump, her IFs in the foreground. Were the three a throuple? Was she placing her baby for adoption? “This is some Handmaid stuff right here,” tweeted conservative writer Bethany S. Mandel, amassing more than 12,000 likes. Portia turned off the comments on her TikTok when she noticed anti-gay ones trickle in. “And it’s all because I wore a red dress.” Portia said. “Like, give me a break.” As for the dress? She hasn’t worn it since.
“I went into this completely voluntarily and willingly with no coercion and with legal rights that make New York State the best state in which to be a surrogate,” Portia said. “What’s more powerful to a woman than the choice to do what she wants with her uterus?”
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