Khaosod English | December 13, 2024
Authorities in Thailand have arrested doctors and nurses alleged to be operating an illegal surrogacy ring for a Chinese couple.
China’s underground surrogacy: Clash of wealth, ethics and tradition
ThinkChina | November 22, 2024
Some Chinese intended parents travel to the US to have children via surrogacy because it operates in a legal gray area there. Others navigate the underground surrogacy industry in China, in which over a thousand “birth consultants” offer surrogacy services through illicit links to local hospitals.
China surrogacy abandonment case being investigated after online criticism
Reuters | October 31, 2024
A regional Chinese health office launched an investigation after reports that a surrogacy agency abandoned a woman who was acting as a surrogate in an underground operation. Surrogacy is illegal in China.
How a cash-strapped Chinese woman sold her eggs to a surrogacy agency
Radio Free Asia | September 12, 2024
Reports of illegal egg retrieval and surrogacy operations in the northeastern Chinese city of Qingdao have prompted authorities to investigate. Underground surrogacy operations in the country leave egg donors and surrogates without needed protections and support, especially when complications arise.
Qingdao authorities to probe claims of illegal surrogacy operation
SHINE | August 29, 2024
A whistleblower reported that doctors from a hospital in the Chinese city of Qingdao were illegally conducting egg retrieval and embryo transfer procedures in collaboration with an underground surrogacy operation. The city’s health commission has launched an investigation.
China’s health body probes hospital after surrogacy claims
Reuters | May 6, 2024
After allegations on social media that a hospital in the city of Chongqing was conducting an illegal surrogacy operation, China’s National Health Commission announced that it had launched an investigation––part of a broader crackdown on underground surrogacy operations in the country.
Surrogacy debate hots up after housekeeping firm in China sparks controversy with advert offering cash to replacement mothers, prompts official probe
South China Morning Post | March 7, 2024
Controversy over an ad for compensated surrogacy in China underscores the country’s ambiguous position on surrogacy. Although no law explicitly outlaws it, government regulations do not allow surrogacy. Some find regulation loopholes, while others travel abroad.
International Approaches to Surrogacy Regulation
The Regulatory Review | March 2, 2024
In the absence of an international legal framework, country-specific legislation on surrogacy spans a spectrum. This article summarizes a range of perspectives on the benefits and risks of surrogacy and features research analyzing various approaches to regulation.
Man arrested for supplying frozen semen to surrogacy rackets abroad
Thai PBS World | February 25, 2024
Thai police arrested a man thought to be a provider of frozen sperm, ova, and embryos for clinics operating in Laos and Cambodia as part of an illegal transnational surrogacy network. (Note “embryos” was incorrectly translated as “fetuses” in the article)
The dangers of carrying a child for someone else in China
The Economist | December 11, 2023
Recent crackdowns on the sale of false birth certificates illuminates the ongoing practice of surrogacy in China, where it operates in a gray legal zone. Although not banned by law, the Chinese government treats surrogacy as such and punishes doctors and hospitals that facilitate it.
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