Stella Chen | South China Morning Post | October 3, 2022
On Chinese social media, news that Cubans voted to legalize non-commercial surrogacy was greeted with some skepticism. Many voiced concerns that surrogacy, which is banned in China, exploits women’s bodies, while others shared support for its legalization.
Kevin McSpadden | South China Morning Post | August 4, 2021
A Chinese reproductive technology company is under police investigation after local publication The Paper and an undercover anti-trafficking advocate exposed them for illegal surrogacy arrangements and child trafficking. The advocate pretended to be an infertile woman, and the head of the company contacted him to arrange the “purchase” of an infant girl. The child-trafficking group allegedly consists of 100 members in different regions.
Sylvia Perez | Fox 32 Chicago | April 21, 2021
Surrogacy-born babies in suburban Chicago continue to be stranded 15 months into the pandemic, miles away from their intended parents in Taiwan and China. Embassies there are not accepting in-person appointments, so the parents cannot obtain the necessary travel documents to pick up their children. One surrogacy agency worker and her husband have cared for four such babies in the last year during these bureaucratic delays.
Koh Ewe | Vice | March 19, 2021
This article discusses the interconnectedness of surrogacy and the LGBTQ community in China. After actress Zheng Shuang’s scandal, surrogacy has garnered newfound attention and vehement scrutiny due to illegality in China as well as attention to the rights of women. LGBTQ couples voiced their worries about the negative perceptions of surrogacy impacting their ability to start families and affecting their recent progress towards societal acceptance.
Vice | March 18, 2021
Surrogacy and LGBTQ+ rights both lie in a legally grey area in China. Same sex couples in China who want to have a child sometimes seek surrogates and fertility treatment abroad––which involves prohibitive cost.
Phoebe Zhang | South China Morning Post | March 8, 2021
This article shares policy topics about women that will be discussed at Two Sessions, China’s yearly parliamentary meetings held in Beijing. A member of the National People’s Congress proposed a stricter ban on surrogacy and the use of underground and overseas agencies to address the recent commercial boom, especially in light of the scandal of actress Zheng Shuang. The two political parties will also discuss the treatment of children born outside of marriage, single mothers’ lack of access to assistive reproductive technologies, and a hotline to report domestic violence.
Global Times | January 20, 2021
Zheng Shuang, a popular actress in China, has been vilified by politicians and the public after her boyfriend claimed on social media that she had abandoned him and their two surrogate-born children in the U.S. This case has received a great deal of Chinese publicity due to Zheng’s high profile along with the illegality of surrogacy in China. Some experts are expressing concerns about the objectification of women through surrogacy and the thriving underground surrogacy market in China.
By Emily Shugerman | The Daily Beast | August 01, 2020
A month before Sierra Martin, a surrogate in Washington State, US, was due to give birth, one of the intended parents asked if she could care for the baby if he was unable to travel due to the coronavirus. This article highlights the story of Martin, a single mother who has been caring for the baby for months, and Li, one of the two fathers in China who was denied entry to the US. Martin was concerned about bonding with the baby and having to give him away. Li is among hundreds of parents who face barriers retrieving their children from the US in the midst of the pandemic.
By Nara Schoenberg | Chicago Tribune | July 22, 2020
Vicky Li, a former employee at a Chicago based surrogacy agency, and her husband, Jerry Wu, have volunteered to care for two children born to surrogates until the parents can fly to the US from China. Hundreds of intended parents from other countries have not been able to come to the US to pick up their children born to surrogates, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. According to the article, the babies are being cared for by an impromptu collection of surrogates, agency employees, baby nurses, family friends and relatives.
By Emily Galpern | Center for Genetics and Society | May 27, 2020
This blogpost provides an overview of the numerous unsettling situations that have arisen since COVID-19 changed the landscape of assisted reproduction and international surrogacy. It shows how the pandemic is illuminating pre-existing problems related to assisted reproduction and surrogacy, highlights the need for stronger regulations, and calls for input from all who will be affected.