Should the Ban on Surrogacy Be Lifted?

A recent China Central Television report found that underground surrogacy businesses are thriving in many cities including Beijing， Wuhan and Guangzhou. Illegal surrogacy agencies talk young women—mostly around 20 years of age， many being college students and some still in high school—into selling egg cells， and even bearing a child for clients.

China has banned surrogacy， but weak enforcement has undermined legal efforts toward prohibition. Some of these underground agencies are even conducting trans-regional business. Others openly publish advertisements online.

While surrogacy may help infertile couples realize their dream of having a baby， its negative impact on society in ethical and legal terms， coupled with concerns related to surrogate mothers physical and psychological health， makes the business a much-condemned one in China. Debates on whether surrogacy should be legalized have thus become heated.

Tighter enforcement

Hai lin （www.chinanews.com）： Surrogacy is actually not a new issue in China. In 2001， the authorities passed two regulations on assisted human reproduction， which prohibit paid surrogacy and the trade of sperm and egg cells. But the law is rather soft with regard to surrogacy practitioners—those who violate regulations face only a fine not higher than 30，000 yuan（$4，830）.

Its no exaggeration to say that the rampancy of illegal surrogacy can be mostly attributed to slack legal enforcement. Although the authorities used to launch intensive crackdowns and some illegal surrogacy agencies have been put out of business， such efforts have not up to now been sufficiently consistent and sustained to curb the practice. Therefore， the matter of making the price paid for breaching the law higher is an urgent one.

Zhang weibin （opinion.huanqiu.com）： Artificial insemination technology has brought hope to couples plagued by infertility. However， as surrogacy inevitably leads to ethical problems and legal disputes， Chinas health authorities have banned the practice.

Narrowly speaking， illegal surrogacy is dangerous and harmful to the health of surrogate mothers. The clients served by underground surrogacy agencies can have a rather cruel nature. Some only want a son and compel the surrogate mother to abort if the embryo is found to be female. This is beyond absurdity to the point of being morally grotesque， and is inhumane in the extreme. Broadly speaking， surrogacy， which involves ethics and the law， may affect social stability and the future of this nation. Therefore， the authorities have reason to intervene.

To crack down on illegal surrogacy， it is important to develop a full complement of laws related to assisted reproduction， and severely punish infringements of these laws.

lin Minyu （www.rednet.cn）： Tempted by the prospect of a quick buck， some university students have engaged in the business of selling ova in the name of donation. Before they get involved， it is unknown whether these university girls， who are highly educated and supposedly possess an above-average capacity for moral judgment， have second thoughts on entering this apparently lucrative industry.

Of course， its possible that they are bedazzled by the gaudy propaganda of illegal agencies. Instead of informing the girls of potential pitfalls， these underground surrogacy agencies promise that the practice entails no risk. In addition， it does appear to be a shortcut to relative wealth. As a result， quite a number of girls fall into the trap set by illegal agencies. Their response to the advances made by such agencies somewhat implies college studentsignorance of， even indifference to， their own health and legal and ethical matters. To some extent， it also reveals a lack of relevant education on the part of schools.

In order to attract often-vulnerable young women to do business with them， illegal agencies have to advertise themselves. Therefore， the question remains： How has such information managed to enter campuses and be disseminated among girls without coming to the attention of the authorities？ Why again is the issue being brought to light only after prolonged media exposure？

In any case， the impressionable girls who want to make easy money by selling their egg cells are the real victims at the bottom of this black business chain. A cursory investigation would reveal that， adding to the many offenses carried out against campus students， the offenders tend to locate and groom their “agents”in the university setting. Therefore， rooting out existing criminal networks on campus would appear important in the fight against underground surrogacy.

Qianxi （www.iqilu.com）： Despite the fact that surrogacy is illegal in China， this underground market has continued to expand as demand is omnipresent. In this illicit market， quite a number of girls in their early 20s go so far as to provide ova and even “rent” their womb. Underground surrogacy agencies， which are overly focused on making money， never inform the girls of the huge risks inherent in this undertaking. This dangerous practice may lead to infertility for some unfortunate girls. It is likely that should they be informed of the potentially terrible consequences， many of them would think twice.

At present， the health authorities only have the right to supervise hospitals， medical institutions and the medical workers there. When dealing with websites and underground surrogacy agencies， we need policing as well as the collaboration of departments overseeing industry and commerce. Meanwhile， the lack of legal repercussions that could deter and appropriately punish underground surrogacy businesses also makes the task of cracking down a difficult one. Thus， to stamp out the underground surrogacy industry， we must have explicit regulations， tough penalties and efficient cooperation among relevant departments.

A moral dilemma

lian Hongyang （Beijing Times）： Absolutely permitting and absolutely forbidding surrogacy are both measures that will engender risk.

In the first instance， conventionally speaking， a child calls the person who gives birth to him or her “mother.” The mother is the one who provides the ovum， gets pregnant and bears a child. However， this longstanding relationship has been called into question with the introduction of surrogate technology. The separation of parents in the legal sense from the definition of the role in the hereditary sense poses big challenges to the law and traditional morality. There have been cases where the surrogate mother has gone back on her initial word and claimed that she wanted to keep her baby instead of receiving payment. Say you were a judge， how would you deal with such a case？

In the second case， surrogacy is absolutely forbidden from a legal standpoint. For the sake of the continuance of the human race， as well as carrying on ones family name and bloodline， the desire to conceive a child is natural and healthy from genetic and psychological perspectives. For various reasons， some couples are unable to give birth to children. For those couples who would dearly love to have a child of their own， infertility is a cause of great misery. When modern medical technology is available to help them with the issue， but such technology is expressly forbidden， they will naturally feel both miserable and desperate. As hospitals do not provide surrogacy services， illegal agencies become the only avenue for couples caught in such a predicament.

Whether or not to grant surrogacy legal status is， in the final analysis， a question regarding the conflicts between technology and ethics. As a point of fact， assisted production is nothing new. Take the technology involved in the creation of test tube babies for example. Initially， this technology was subject to wide opposition， but today， more and more people have come to accept it. Similarly， surrogacy should be properly made use of， so that it can help make peoples lives better. It is thus of vital importance to standardize this practice using legal means and make explicit the procedures and even legal consequences involved in the use of surrogate technology. In some countries， restrictions on surrogacy are loosening. Practicing it in a discreet way may eventually become lawful.