pacifist
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GUANGZHOU (China): With Chinas rising affluence, increasing numbers of infertile couples have been seeking surrogate mothers to bear them babies.
In recent years, officials have largely turned a blind eye to this underground womb-for-rent industry that defies the countrys strict childbirth laws. Now, there are signs the authorities are starting to crack down by forcing some surrogate mothers to abort their foetuses.
In the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, three young surrogate first-time mothers were discovered by authorities hiding in a communal flat.
Soon afterwards, district family planning and security officers broke into the flat, bundled them into a van and drove them to a district hospital where they were manhandled into a maternity ward, the mothers recounted to Reuters.
I was crying I dont want to do this, said a young woman called Xiao Hong, who was pregnant with four-month-old twins.
But they still dragged me in and injected my belly with a needle, the 20-year-old told Reuters of her ordeal which happened in late February.
The woman, who declined to give her full name for fear of reprisals, said the men had forced her thumbprint onto a consent form before carrying out the abortion.
Another of the surrogates, who said shed come from a village in Sichuan province, recounted how officers made her take pills then surgically removed her three-month-old foetus while she was unconscious. I was terrified, the 23-year-old said.A spokesman for the Guangdong Provincial Family Planning Commission Zhong Qingcai declined to be formally interviewed by Reuters, but said authorities were investigating.
The official Guangzhou Daily newspaper quoted district family planning officials as saying the women were all unmarried and acting as illegal surrogates. It added the three had agreed to undergo remedial measures in accordance with the law.
But the head of the surrogacy agency caring for the mothers, disputes this version of events.
Its an absolute crime, said Lu Jinfeng, the founder of the China Surrogate Mother website which has run for over five years without encountering any problems like this.
By forcefully dragging people away like this to undergo an abortion is a savage illegal act that violates human rights. Tighter curbs Since the incident, a notable vein of officially sanctioned media reports, including one paper describing the profit margins of the surrogacy business as greater than the narcotics trade, has led some observers to expect tighter curbs in future.
When you see this kind of reporting its a kind of public education ... a sign the government is going to do something, said Siu Yatming, an expert on Chinas family planning issues with Hong Kongs Baptist University.
Theyre becoming more aware of the situation ... a lot of the (surrogacy) agencies are making a lot of money just like an organised industry, Siu added.
Underground networks of surrogacy agents, hospitals, and doctors have spread in recent years as infertile Chinese couples with money hire surrogates to produce babies for them.
The surrogates are often confined to secret flats for most of the duration of their pregnancy to avoid detection, while fertility, obstetrics and childbirth procedures for the mothers are often carried out discreetly by medical staff at public hospitals and health clinics with links to agents.
Under Chinas civil law, this (surrogacy) should be prohibited. Intermediary (surrogacy) services are also essentially illegal, said Zhang Minan, a law professor at Guangzhous Sun Yat-sen University and an expert on the issue.
But these cases exist and they cannot possibly be made public or legalised. You cannot legalise such practices, he added, referring to Chinas tight birth planning rules which have restricted couples to just one child since the late 1970s.
With around one in six couples in the US now estimated to be infertile and with similar rates seen in China as modern urban lifestyles take hold, surrogacy agencies have been recruiting girls, often from poor villages, to have babies on behalf of prospective parents, in ever greater numbers.
Accurate figures on the size of the industry are hard to come by, but a recent report by the respected Southern Metropolis Weekly estimated around 25,000 surrogate children have been born so far in China, citing research into surrogacy agency websites carried out by family planning authorities.Hundreds of Chinese surrogacy agencies are openly listed on Chinese search engines like Baidu, luring prospective clients with maternal imagery and pop-up windows offering live chats.
Prospective surrogate mothers are openly recruited and paid between 50,000 to 100,000 yuan ($14,650) per pregnancy on some sites, making it a lucrative profession for poor village girls in a country where the average annual per capital income for rural households is around $600.
Outlaws While emotional, ethical and legal complications make surrogacy a thorny topic in many countries, the trend has been on the rise globally. India, in particular, has become a surrogate outsourcing hub for infertile and gay Western couples.
There are millions of people out there who want to have kids but cant, Robert Klitzman, a bio-ethicist at Columbia Universitys Medical Centre told Reuters by phone from New York.
India has moved to introduce legislation on surrogacy to safeguard the rights and health of impoverished women from exploitation.
In some US states paid surrogacy is outlawed, while weak regulatory oversight in states such as California has led to clients being duped by unscrupulous surrogacy brokers.
Whenever you have an underground industry youre going to have problems because theres no guarantee that theyre going to follow standards of safety, follow standard medical or ethical practice. Theres a lack of transparency, Klitzman added.In China, however, with the number of surrogate births still very small compared to the overall birth rate, the prospect of a safe legal framework remains a distant one, leaving open the risk of arbitrary, violent enforcement.
They (the authorities) do have the right (to force abortions) but it rarely happens because such surrogacy is extremely secretive. And for the authorities its difficult to get evidence, said Zhang, the legal scholar.
Because this problem hasnt yet sparked widespread social interest, so from this perspective the Chinese government hasnt really noticed the matter, nor accepted it, he said.
If this problem does spark widespread social interest, then authorities might start to do something about it, Zhang added. Reuters
guangzhou (china): with chinas ris- ing affluence, increasing numbers of infertile couples have been seeking surrogate moth- ers to bear them babies. in recent years, officials have largely turned a blind eye to this underground womb-for-rent industry that defies the coun- trys strict childbirth laws. now, there are signs the authorities are starting to crack down by forcing some surrogate mothers to abort their foetuses. in the southern chinese city of guangzhou, three young surrogate first-time mothers were discovered by authorities hid- ing in a communal flat. soon afterwards, district family planning and security officers broke into the flat, bun- dled them into a van and drove them to a dis- trict hospital where they were manhandled into a maternity ward, the mothers recoun- ted to reuters. i was crying i dont want to do this, said a young woman called xiao hong, who was pregnant with four-month-old twins. but they still dragged me in and injected my belly with a needle, the 20-year-old told reuters of her ordeal which happened in late february. the woman, who declined to give her full name for fear of reprisals, said the men had forced her thumbprint onto a consent form before carrying out the abortion. another of the surrogates, who said shed come from a village in sichuan province, re- counted how officers made her take pills then surgically removed her three-month-old foetus while she was unconscious. i was ter- rified, the 23-year-old said.a spokesman for the guangdong provincial family planning commission zhong qingcai declined to be formally interviewed by reuters, but said au- thorities were investigating. the official guangzhou daily newspaper quoted district family planning officials as saying the women were all unmarried and acting as illegal surrogates. it added the three had agreed to undergo remedial measures in accordance with the law. but the head of the surrogacy agency car- ing for the mothers, disputes this version of events. its an absolute crime, said lu jinfeng, the founder of the china surrogate mother website which has run for over five years without encountering any problems like this. by forcefully dragging people away like this to undergo an abortion is a savage illegal act that violates human rights. tighter curbs since the incident, a notable vein of offi- cially sanctioned media reports, including one paper describing the profit margins of the surrogacy business as greater than the narcotics trade, has led some observers to expect tighter curbs in future. when you see this kind of reporting its a kind of public education ... a sign the govern- ment is going to do something, said siu yat- ming, an expert on chinas family planning issues with hong kongs baptist university. theyre becoming more aware of the sit- uation ... a lot of the (surrogacy) agencies are making a lot of money just like an organised industry, siu added. underground networks of surrogacy agents, hospitals, and doctors have spread in recent years as infertile chinese couples with money hire surrogates to produce babies for them. the surrogates are often confined to se- cret flats for most of the duration of their pregnancy to avoid detection, while fertility, obstetrics and childbirth procedures for the mothers are often carried out discreetly by medical staff at public hospitals and health clinics with links to agents. under chinas civil law, this (surrogacy) should be prohibited. intermediary (surroga- cy) services are also essentially illegal, said zhang minan, a law professor at guangzhous sun yat-sen university and an expert on the issue. but these cases exist and they cannot pos- sibly be made public or legalised. you cannot legalise such practices, he added, referring to chinas tight birth planning rules which have restricted couples to just one child since the late 1970s. with around one in six couples in the us now estimated to be infertile and with simi- lar rates seen in china as modern urban life- styles take hold, surrogacy agencies have been recruiting girls, often from poor vil- lages, to have babies on behalf of prospective parents, in ever greater numbers. accurate figures on the size of the industry are hard to come by, but a recent report by the respected southern metropolis weekly estimated around 25,000 surrogate children have been born so far in china, citing re- search into surrogacy agency websites car- ried out by family planning authori- ties.hundreds of chinese surrogacy agencies are openly listed on chinese search engines like baidu, luring prospective clients with maternal imagery and pop-up windows offer- ing live chats. prospective surrogate mothers are openly recruited and paid between 50,000 to 100,000 yuan ($14,650) per pregnancy on some sites, making it a lucrative profession for poor village girls in a country where the average annual per capital income for rural households is around $600. outlaws while emotional, ethical and legal compli- cations make surrogacy a thorny topic in many countries, the trend has been on the rise globally. india, in particular, has become a surrogate outsourcing hub for infertile and gay western couples. there are millions of people out there who want to have kids but cant, robert klitzman, a bio-ethicist at columbia universitys medical centre told reuters by phone from new york. india has moved to introduce legislation on surrogacy to safeguard the rights and health of impoverished women from exploitation. in some us states paid surrogacy is out- lawed, while weak regulatory oversight in states such as california has led to clients be- ing duped by unscrupulous surrogacy brok- ers. whenever you have an underground in- dustry youre going to have problems be- cause theres no guarantee that theyre going to follow standards of safety, follow standard medical or ethical practice. theres a lack of transparency, klitzman added.in china, however, with the number of surrogate births still very small compared to the over- all birth rate, the prospect of a safe legal framework remains a distant one, leaving open the risk of arbitrary, violent enforce- ment. they (the authorities) do have the right (to force abortions) but it rarely happens be- cause such surrogacy is extremely secretive. and for the authorities its difficult to get evi- dence, said zhang, the legal scholar. because this problem hasnt yet sparked widespread social interest, so from this per- spective the chinese government hasnt real- ly noticed the matter, nor accepted it, he said. if this problem does spark widespread so- cial interest, then authorities might start to do something about it, zhang added. reuters
In recent years, officials have largely turned a blind eye to this underground womb-for-rent industry that defies the countrys strict childbirth laws. Now, there are signs the authorities are starting to crack down by forcing some surrogate mothers to abort their foetuses.
In the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, three young surrogate first-time mothers were discovered by authorities hiding in a communal flat.
Soon afterwards, district family planning and security officers broke into the flat, bundled them into a van and drove them to a district hospital where they were manhandled into a maternity ward, the mothers recounted to Reuters.
I was crying I dont want to do this, said a young woman called Xiao Hong, who was pregnant with four-month-old twins.
But they still dragged me in and injected my belly with a needle, the 20-year-old told Reuters of her ordeal which happened in late February.
The woman, who declined to give her full name for fear of reprisals, said the men had forced her thumbprint onto a consent form before carrying out the abortion.
Another of the surrogates, who said shed come from a village in Sichuan province, recounted how officers made her take pills then surgically removed her three-month-old foetus while she was unconscious. I was terrified, the 23-year-old said.A spokesman for the Guangdong Provincial Family Planning Commission Zhong Qingcai declined to be formally interviewed by Reuters, but said authorities were investigating.
The official Guangzhou Daily newspaper quoted district family planning officials as saying the women were all unmarried and acting as illegal surrogates. It added the three had agreed to undergo remedial measures in accordance with the law.
But the head of the surrogacy agency caring for the mothers, disputes this version of events.
Its an absolute crime, said Lu Jinfeng, the founder of the China Surrogate Mother website which has run for over five years without encountering any problems like this.
By forcefully dragging people away like this to undergo an abortion is a savage illegal act that violates human rights. Tighter curbs Since the incident, a notable vein of officially sanctioned media reports, including one paper describing the profit margins of the surrogacy business as greater than the narcotics trade, has led some observers to expect tighter curbs in future.
When you see this kind of reporting its a kind of public education ... a sign the government is going to do something, said Siu Yatming, an expert on Chinas family planning issues with Hong Kongs Baptist University.
Theyre becoming more aware of the situation ... a lot of the (surrogacy) agencies are making a lot of money just like an organised industry, Siu added.
Underground networks of surrogacy agents, hospitals, and doctors have spread in recent years as infertile Chinese couples with money hire surrogates to produce babies for them.
The surrogates are often confined to secret flats for most of the duration of their pregnancy to avoid detection, while fertility, obstetrics and childbirth procedures for the mothers are often carried out discreetly by medical staff at public hospitals and health clinics with links to agents.
Under Chinas civil law, this (surrogacy) should be prohibited. Intermediary (surrogacy) services are also essentially illegal, said Zhang Minan, a law professor at Guangzhous Sun Yat-sen University and an expert on the issue.
But these cases exist and they cannot possibly be made public or legalised. You cannot legalise such practices, he added, referring to Chinas tight birth planning rules which have restricted couples to just one child since the late 1970s.
With around one in six couples in the US now estimated to be infertile and with similar rates seen in China as modern urban lifestyles take hold, surrogacy agencies have been recruiting girls, often from poor villages, to have babies on behalf of prospective parents, in ever greater numbers.
Accurate figures on the size of the industry are hard to come by, but a recent report by the respected Southern Metropolis Weekly estimated around 25,000 surrogate children have been born so far in China, citing research into surrogacy agency websites carried out by family planning authorities.Hundreds of Chinese surrogacy agencies are openly listed on Chinese search engines like Baidu, luring prospective clients with maternal imagery and pop-up windows offering live chats.
Prospective surrogate mothers are openly recruited and paid between 50,000 to 100,000 yuan ($14,650) per pregnancy on some sites, making it a lucrative profession for poor village girls in a country where the average annual per capital income for rural households is around $600.
Outlaws While emotional, ethical and legal complications make surrogacy a thorny topic in many countries, the trend has been on the rise globally. India, in particular, has become a surrogate outsourcing hub for infertile and gay Western couples.
There are millions of people out there who want to have kids but cant, Robert Klitzman, a bio-ethicist at Columbia Universitys Medical Centre told Reuters by phone from New York.
India has moved to introduce legislation on surrogacy to safeguard the rights and health of impoverished women from exploitation.
In some US states paid surrogacy is outlawed, while weak regulatory oversight in states such as California has led to clients being duped by unscrupulous surrogacy brokers.
Whenever you have an underground industry youre going to have problems because theres no guarantee that theyre going to follow standards of safety, follow standard medical or ethical practice. Theres a lack of transparency, Klitzman added.In China, however, with the number of surrogate births still very small compared to the overall birth rate, the prospect of a safe legal framework remains a distant one, leaving open the risk of arbitrary, violent enforcement.
They (the authorities) do have the right (to force abortions) but it rarely happens because such surrogacy is extremely secretive. And for the authorities its difficult to get evidence, said Zhang, the legal scholar.
Because this problem hasnt yet sparked widespread social interest, so from this perspective the Chinese government hasnt really noticed the matter, nor accepted it, he said.
If this problem does spark widespread social interest, then authorities might start to do something about it, Zhang added. Reuters
guangzhou (china): with chinas ris- ing affluence, increasing numbers of infertile couples have been seeking surrogate moth- ers to bear them babies. in recent years, officials have largely turned a blind eye to this underground womb-for-rent industry that defies the coun- trys strict childbirth laws. now, there are signs the authorities are starting to crack down by forcing some surrogate mothers to abort their foetuses. in the southern chinese city of guangzhou, three young surrogate first-time mothers were discovered by authorities hid- ing in a communal flat. soon afterwards, district family planning and security officers broke into the flat, bun- dled them into a van and drove them to a dis- trict hospital where they were manhandled into a maternity ward, the mothers recoun- ted to reuters. i was crying i dont want to do this, said a young woman called xiao hong, who was pregnant with four-month-old twins. but they still dragged me in and injected my belly with a needle, the 20-year-old told reuters of her ordeal which happened in late february. the woman, who declined to give her full name for fear of reprisals, said the men had forced her thumbprint onto a consent form before carrying out the abortion. another of the surrogates, who said shed come from a village in sichuan province, re- counted how officers made her take pills then surgically removed her three-month-old foetus while she was unconscious. i was ter- rified, the 23-year-old said.a spokesman for the guangdong provincial family planning commission zhong qingcai declined to be formally interviewed by reuters, but said au- thorities were investigating. the official guangzhou daily newspaper quoted district family planning officials as saying the women were all unmarried and acting as illegal surrogates. it added the three had agreed to undergo remedial measures in accordance with the law. but the head of the surrogacy agency car- ing for the mothers, disputes this version of events. its an absolute crime, said lu jinfeng, the founder of the china surrogate mother website which has run for over five years without encountering any problems like this. by forcefully dragging people away like this to undergo an abortion is a savage illegal act that violates human rights. tighter curbs since the incident, a notable vein of offi- cially sanctioned media reports, including one paper describing the profit margins of the surrogacy business as greater than the narcotics trade, has led some observers to expect tighter curbs in future. when you see this kind of reporting its a kind of public education ... a sign the govern- ment is going to do something, said siu yat- ming, an expert on chinas family planning issues with hong kongs baptist university. theyre becoming more aware of the sit- uation ... a lot of the (surrogacy) agencies are making a lot of money just like an organised industry, siu added. underground networks of surrogacy agents, hospitals, and doctors have spread in recent years as infertile chinese couples with money hire surrogates to produce babies for them. the surrogates are often confined to se- cret flats for most of the duration of their pregnancy to avoid detection, while fertility, obstetrics and childbirth procedures for the mothers are often carried out discreetly by medical staff at public hospitals and health clinics with links to agents. under chinas civil law, this (surrogacy) should be prohibited. intermediary (surroga- cy) services are also essentially illegal, said zhang minan, a law professor at guangzhous sun yat-sen university and an expert on the issue. but these cases exist and they cannot pos- sibly be made public or legalised. you cannot legalise such practices, he added, referring to chinas tight birth planning rules which have restricted couples to just one child since the late 1970s. with around one in six couples in the us now estimated to be infertile and with simi- lar rates seen in china as modern urban life- styles take hold, surrogacy agencies have been recruiting girls, often from poor vil- lages, to have babies on behalf of prospective parents, in ever greater numbers. accurate figures on the size of the industry are hard to come by, but a recent report by the respected southern metropolis weekly estimated around 25,000 surrogate children have been born so far in china, citing re- search into surrogacy agency websites car- ried out by family planning authori- ties.hundreds of chinese surrogacy agencies are openly listed on chinese search engines like baidu, luring prospective clients with maternal imagery and pop-up windows offer- ing live chats. prospective surrogate mothers are openly recruited and paid between 50,000 to 100,000 yuan ($14,650) per pregnancy on some sites, making it a lucrative profession for poor village girls in a country where the average annual per capital income for rural households is around $600. outlaws while emotional, ethical and legal compli- cations make surrogacy a thorny topic in many countries, the trend has been on the rise globally. india, in particular, has become a surrogate outsourcing hub for infertile and gay western couples. there are millions of people out there who want to have kids but cant, robert klitzman, a bio-ethicist at columbia universitys medical centre told reuters by phone from new york. india has moved to introduce legislation on surrogacy to safeguard the rights and health of impoverished women from exploitation. in some us states paid surrogacy is out- lawed, while weak regulatory oversight in states such as california has led to clients be- ing duped by unscrupulous surrogacy brok- ers. whenever you have an underground in- dustry youre going to have problems be- cause theres no guarantee that theyre going to follow standards of safety, follow standard medical or ethical practice. theres a lack of transparency, klitzman added.in china, however, with the number of surrogate births still very small compared to the over- all birth rate, the prospect of a safe legal framework remains a distant one, leaving open the risk of arbitrary, violent enforce- ment. they (the authorities) do have the right (to force abortions) but it rarely happens be- cause such surrogacy is extremely secretive. and for the authorities its difficult to get evi- dence, said zhang, the legal scholar. because this problem hasnt yet sparked widespread social interest, so from this per- spective the chinese government hasnt real- ly noticed the matter, nor accepted it, he said. if this problem does spark widespread so- cial interest, then authorities might start to do something about it, zhang added. reuters
