BEIJING (SCMP): A 17-year-old girl from China’s Yi minority acted as a surrogate mother and egg provider for a 50-year-old man who allegedly paid her more than 900,000 yuan (US$124,000) to conceive twin boys.
The alleged arrangement has sparked widespread public outrage.
The scandal surfaced on March 24 when Shangguan Zhengyi, an anti-trafficking activist, revealed on social media that a Yi minority teenage girl became a surrogate mother through an agency in the southern city of Guangzhou and gave birth to twins.
The online post said that the girl, from Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province, southwestern China, who was born in May 2007, delivered male twins on Feb 2, in southern China’s Guangdong province.
The father of the twins is a 50-year-old man, surnamed Long, from Jiangxi province in southeastern China.
The girl was only 16 years old when the embryo was implanted.
He also provided supporting evidence, such as the child’s birth certificate, a “guaranteed success agreement,” and other surrogacy-related contracts.
It has been disclosed that Long signed the agreement with Guangzhou Junlan Medical Equipment Co Ltd, which included a total surrogacy fee of 730,000 yuan (US$100,000), specifically requesting twin boys.
The agreement clearly stated that the young woman would act as a surrogate, and also provide her own eggs.
Long is unmarried, so he also allegedly pretended the girl was his wife to obtain birth certificates and household registrations for the children.
While Long ultimately paid more than 900,000 yuan, it remains unclear how much of this sum was actually received by the young woman.
In response to a public outcry, the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission said they were investigating the matter.
China does not have a specific law that bans surrogacy outright, but various government regulations prohibit the practice.
Wu Zhenhua, a lawyer from Beijing Yedi Law Firm, told Beijing Radio and Television Station that the surrogacy agency may have committed crimes such as illegal business operations and illegal medical practices.
“Organising minors to participate in surrogacy constitutes harm to minors and may involve trafficking of women and children or intentional injury,” said Wu.
“The fabrication of documents and household registrations may violate laws against forging, altering, or trading official government documents. As for the male client, he may be considered an accomplice to crimes such as aiding illegal business operations or intentional injury,” Wu added.
The story ignited a wave of outrage online.
One online observer said: “Reading this news really broke my heart. As a mother, I know how exhausting and painful pregnancy can be.
“My daughter was born in 2008, and now a girl born in 2007 has already become a surrogate mother and had twins. This must be thoroughly investigated.”
“Women are not vessels. Medical institutions that facilitate surrogacy must face criminal charges. A fine of just a few thousand yuan is far from enough,” said another. - South China Morning Post
