In the absence of clear legislation, a Chinese entrepreneur has set up a nationwide network of surrogacy offices, with more than 120 surrogate mothers. Liu Baojin, the 28-year-old founder of daiyun.com, says that surrogacy is ethical and legal in China. He says that he gets at least 10,000 yuan for each successful match. The surrogate mother, if educated, could earn about 70,000.

However, since Chinese law does prohibit IVF clinics from engaging in surrogacy, Mr Liu’s surrogate pregnancies are achieved in the old-fashioned way, leaving him open to criticism for immorality. Liu Zhijun, a sociologist at Zhejiang University, says that surrogacy corrupts social morals and violates human rights. It often ends in tragedy, with extra-marital affairs, family disputes and even crime.

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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