Surrogacy Scandal Highlights Lack of Federal Regulations

The removal of 21 children from the custody of a Los Angeles-area couple has brought the practice of surrogacy into the spotlight. The incident has raised questions about the lack of federal regulations governing surrogacy, leaving it up to individual states to set their own rules if they choose to allow it.

The children, ranging in age from 2 months to 13 years, were taken by an LA County child welfare agency in May. The parents, Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan, were accused of failing to intervene in the abuse of a baby by a nanny. The FBI is investigating the case, but agents have not commented on the matter. Zhang and Xuan have not responded to requests for comment.

Police believe that Zhang gave birth to one or two of the children, while the rest were born through surrogates. Some of the women who acted as surrogates for the couple have expressed that they were unaware of the couple's intentions to build a large family, raising questions about their motivations.

Surrogacy is an agreement between parties where a woman becomes pregnant, typically through an embryo transfer, and delivers a baby for intended parents who may struggle with infertility or be same-sex couples. There is no limit on the number of children someone can have through surrogates or any other method. California is considered a "surrogacy-friendly state" because it has clear laws around the process, including requirements for both parties to have lawyers and a written, notarized contract before an embryo transfer.

The legitimate surrogacy community in California is distressed by incidents like this, as they have worked hard to establish legal and ethical standards. The incident has also raised questions about the role of businesses that act as matchmakers, connecting surrogates to people who want to have children. A company called Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC was registered at the Arcadia address of Zhang and Xuan, but it is not clear if the couple set up the business solely to find surrogates for themselves. The company terminated its business license in June.

There are no special licensing requirements in California for businesses that match surrogates with intended parents. The incident has also raised questions about the role of fertility clinics in handling embryos and the checks and balances in the surrogacy process. The six children who were not at the couple’s home were found with family friends, and the couple’s house was set up for a school environment. Zhang and Xuan were accused of neglect and arrested in May, but charges were not formally pursued at that time in order for an abuse investigation to continue.

California law requires child welfare agencies to prioritize placing children who cannot safely be with their parents in homes with extended family, and requires siblings to be kept together unless it would endanger the child to do so. The Children’s Law Center of California has worked with some families with 10 to 12 children, but a family with 20 children or more is unusual. It is more complicated to find foster homes for larger families that can accommodate all the children’s needs, especially for infants.

In cases involving many children, the state will sometimes get creative to make sure that siblings can maintain relationships with each other, like placing them in the same neighborhood, or placing them in different but related households. A case involving over 20 children conceived through surrogacy would present some legal questions, but the advocacy remains the same: every child should be in a loving, safe home.