A California couple arrested in surrogacy case

A California couple was arrested on child abuse charges after over twenty children from different surrogate mothers were found living in a large mansion in Arcadia, near Los Angeles.

Surrogates fighting for custody of their children

Many of the surrogates in the Arcadia case are currently fighting for custody through the courts of the children they carried.

The surrogacy industry is largely unregulated

The United States does not regulate the surrogacy industry seemingly at all. Surrogacy is expensive, typically costing six figures, but operates with almost no legal oversight.

Why federal regulation never happened

Anti-abortion Republicans opposed regulating IVF because they were uncomfortable with creating and destroying embryos. The left feared government control over who could have families.

Only New York requires a surrogacy license

Only one state, New York, requires a special license to operate a surrogacy agency. Everywhere else it is easier to open an agency than a hot dog stand or a nail salon.

“it's easier to open an agency than a hot dog stand or a nail salon”

Pop-up agencies create confusion and deception

The lack of licensing has led to pop-up agencies where nobody knows who owns or runs them. People sign up feeling unprepared or deceived about the surrogacy agreement.

Baby M case changed New Jersey law

In the nineteen eighties, Mary Beth Whitehead was a surrogate whose egg was used. After giving birth she changed her mind, kidnapped the child, and went on the run for several months.

New Jersey banned commercial surrogacy

A New Jersey judge ruled the Baby M surrogacy arrangement was unenforceable. Commercial surrogacy became illegal in New Jersey and stayed illegal in New York until twenty twenty.

Congress blocked federal IVF funding in nineteen ninety-five

In nineteen ninety-five, Congress passed legislation saying there would be no federal funding for embryo research, which means no federal funding for IVF. This left research and innovation to the free market.

Chinese billionaire rumored to have over one hundred children

Xu Bo, a Chinese video gaming billionaire, is rumored to have more than one hundred children via surrogacy in America. His case taps into fears of birth tourism and geopolitical tensions.

McKenna West refused abortion at twenty weeks

In Texas, surrogate McKenna West learned at twenty weeks gestation the baby was very sick. The intended parents asked her to get an abortion. She refused and fought for custody.

Kyla Simpson fighting custody in Florida

Kyla Simpson gave birth for a single dad in China who was rejected for a US visa. Simpson tried to adopt the children and is now fighting for custody in Florida courts.

Most cases go right, but chaos when they do not

Most of the time surrogacy goes right and surrogates are happy. But when things go wrong, there is often no recourse and parents and surrogates face big legal messes.

Regulation costs and political gridlock block reform

Surrogacy costs between one hundred fifty thousand to two hundred fifty thousand dollars and takes several years. Regulation would make it more expensive and longer, limiting access for those who need it.