As reported by IA Rosbalt, the first relates to the 'private sector' of family relations: recently, some Polish firms providing wedding organization services have expanded their clientele. Now they offer the organization of no less solemn... divorces. Representatives of these firms assure that this event should not traumatize the souls of the working people, and therefore it is better to laugh during a divorce than to quarrel among themselves.
Thus, one of the most popular services on the list is the ceremonial burning of the marriage certificate in the presence of both spouses. And for those who find even this symbolic act lacking in moral satisfaction, they are offered to videotape the joint throwing of wedding rings into the toilet. True, this option is not the most popular. Not every resident of Poland can afford to flush expensive jewelry into the abyss. And besides, the services of a plumber might be urgently needed...
The imagination of Polish 'family entrepreneurs' is fueled, of course, not so much by concern for divorcing couples as by anxiety for their own wallets. According to the Polish Statistical Office, the number of divorces in the country is growing twice as fast as the number of registered marriages. That is why wedding organizers had to think about expanding the market for their services.
For example, a certain firm in Poznań immediately after organizing a wedding offers happy newlyweds an 80% discount if they want to divorce with its help. Divorce services are a whole package that includes the help of lawyers, psychologists, real estate experts, and even a tour operator who organizes a 'reverse honeymoon' – a seaside vacation for ex-spouses so they can recover from the nervous shock. Naturally, even if the sea is the same, its shores will be different for each of the 'exes'.
Polish priests have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with such firms, but in this case their arguments are unlikely to have an effect. After all, the church has always been against divorce as such. Nevertheless, since the number of divorces is increasing, the supply of corresponding services is also growing. In autumn, a special fair of 'divorce' firms is even planned in Wrocław.
However, another innovation causes even greater indignation among the Polish clergy. The country is opening its first center for surrogate mothers. A price list for 'maternal services' has already been published, and the center has its first clients. So far, 37 women have applied to its administration: young, physically healthy Polish women ready to offer their bodies to those who, for various reasons, are unable to become a parent on their own.
One of the main criteria in selecting surrogate mothers and couples wishing to use their services is the factor of place of residence: the center's administration ensures that in the future, the woman who carried the 'ordered' child cannot accidentally meet her clients. So ideally, the surrogate mother and the child's parents should live in different cities or even different countries.
As for the price of this service, it ranges from 30 to 45 thousand zlotys (?12-17 thousand), and, as emphasized in the price list, these prices are negotiable and can change in either direction. Before becoming pregnant, surrogate mothers must undergo a medical examination (including for genetic diseases) and provide a certificate of the absence of such diseases in close relatives. In addition, they sign an obligation not to smoke or drink alcohol during pregnancy.
On the other hand, couples who turn to the center for help must guarantee that they will take the child, regardless of whether he or she is born healthy or sick. Before pregnancy, the surrogate mother signs a promissory note for 140 thousand zlotys, which is deposited in the center's safe until the child is handed over to the 'clients' – to exclude the possibility of claims on her part.
The center for surrogate mothers will be headed by nurse Elżbieta Szymańska. According to her own assurances, the 32-year-old woman was forced to take up this profitable business by 'the difficult demographic situation in Poland and the sad figures of medical statistics.' More than 1.5 million Polish families cannot have children. At the moment, she has already signed contracts for the birth of three babies.
Such commercialization of marriage and the sacrament of birth, of course, outrages the priests. They still urge couples to whom Heaven is not quick to send children to not go to any centers, but to go to church and pray diligently. And if they sincerely realize their sinfulness and repent, they believe, the Lord will surely give them a child.
Nevertheless, as polls show, most Poles support the 'regularization' of surrogate motherhood, for two reasons. First, until now, the market for these services in Poland has flourished one way or another, but has constantly remained in the 'gray zone' of the law: abuses and outright crimes related to the selection of surrogate mothers and the adoption of newborns have multiplied. The second is quite explained by the religiosity of Poles. They believe that there is no need to disturb God unnecessarily if you can try to solve the problem yourself.