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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘How did I feel giving the baby away? I never thought of it like that': inside a weekend retreat for surrogate mothers
As I walk out of Hobart airport's small arrivals hall, I immediately spot the person I'm looking for. My contact, Mollie D'Arcy, is standing at the exit, heavily pregnant. Her baby bump isn't the only giveaway – she's holding up a laminated sign in hot pink writing, sticky taped to a retractable light sabre toy. It reads, 'Surrogates on Tour.' It's mid-September 2024 and D'Arcy is this year's Surrogacy Sisterhood Retreat organiser and captain. Since its inception in 2018, it's the first time this event, a roving annual weekend away for surrogates past and present, has made it to Tasmania. 'I'm pretty happy to shout loud and proud that I'm a surrogate,' D'Arcy says. I've been liaising with D'Arcy for weeks. She has helped me gain the other surrogates' consent for me to be the first journalist allowed access to the retreat for a podcast series, Secrets We Keep, on the fertility industry. As we make our way to the luggage collection area, about a dozen excited surrogates begin to trickle in. Most have taken early flights from Queensland and Victoria and two have made it all the way from Western Australia and New Zealand. In no time, the carousel area is gushing with surrogates from all walks of life, ranging from their early 30 to late 40s – admin officers, educators, PR specialists, entrepreneurs and lawyers. Most already know each other, having met at previous retreats or online. All tick the one entry criterion for being here: they've carried a baby for someone else. 'I don't think there's another word that could describe it better than sisterhood,' says family creation lawyer, former surrogate and egg donor, Sarah Jefford. Jefford is one of the Surrogacy Sisterhood Retreat's founders, inspired by a retreat for Canadian surrogates. 'We'll have some surrogates who are pregnant, some that have just birthed, some that haven't even gone through the process yet, and we share all the different aspects of good, positive journeys or challenging or negative journeys,' she says. 'It's all welcome.' Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Altruistic surrogacy is the only legal option for surrogacy in Australia; it's rare and heavily regulated. Jefford estimates there are between 130 and 150 altruistic surrogacy births in Australia each year and roughly 80% of these arrangements are between family members and friends, while 20% occur among strangers. Laws differ between states, but hopeful parents in Australia cannot pay a surrogate for carrying, or advertise they need a one to create a family. Women who wish to become surrogates must offer voluntarily. The regulatory environment has meant those seeking a surrogate, and those keen to be one, must turn to informal structures to find each other – the most significant one being a closed Facebook group where intended parents and surrogate candidates post their photos, introductions and bona fides as potential parents or surrogates. Then, interested parties slide into each other's DMs, hoping to match with each other. I was curious to learn more about the women who lend their wombs to carry a baby for strangers they'd met online. As we climb into a convoy of cars to head to the farm in Bothwell, an hour's drive from Hobart, where the retreat is being held, D'Arcy is busily pasting up 'Surrogacy Express' signs on each vehicle – also in hot pink writing. D'Arcy was exposed to surrogacy through working at an IVF clinic. She became fascinated by the concept after witnessing some of the first Tasmanian surrogacy arrangements come through the clinic, shortly after it became legal in 2012. 'I felt so deeply for these people who couldn't have a baby, knowing that I have always wanted a family. I really thought maybe I could be a surrogate. It felt like something I was capable of.' At the time, she had not yet had her own two children. 'Then, when I fell pregnant [with my first child] so easily, I thought, 'Wow, I could really help someone else do this',' she says. 'And then, when I was pregnant with my second child, I started researching how to become a surrogate.' D'Arcy stumbled across the Australian Surrogacy Community group on Facebook. She met some couples, but they didn't hit it off. Then she connected with a same-sex couple. 'I just really liked them. And after conversations via social media, when I met them in person, I just clicked with them really, really well.' When I met D'Arcy at the retreat, she was almost seven months into her second surrogacy pregnancy for the same couple. Over the weekend, the activities include chats around the fireplace, communal meals, nature walks, yoga and crafts. Every activity is optional, and some take place simultaneously. While the bulk of the Queensland contingent decides to drive out to see the snow, the Victorian and Tasmanian surrogates opt for a yoga class. Apart from mealtimes, no schedule is set. Through it all, there are deep and candid conversations about womanhood and motherhood. From the mundane logistics of parenting to surrogate heart-to-hearts: the venting of niggles or annoyances of their relationships (with their partners and with the intended parents they carried for) to detailed and graphic descriptions of intimate medical procedures. The mood is one of total release. But the one topic that dominates every conversation is pregnancy, and how pregnancy affected each of these surrogates. Even under the best, low-risk circumstances, pregnancy takes its toll on mind and body, so I ask, 'Why go through all that for someone else?' Time and time again, the women report that they want to help someone else create a family. But that isn't the only reason – another powerful driver many raise is the need to satiate a deep, personal feeling of 'not being done'. Sarah Jefford became a surrogate and an egg donor after an excruciating IVF experience. Once she finally became a mother of two, she felt she wanted 'to have another pregnancy and birth and not raise the baby'. 'If you're wanting to be pregnant and then you find out you're pregnant, it's just the best,' Jefford adds. She describes this feeling as 'baby lust'. Some surrogates, such as Queensland educator SJ, who did not want to use her real name, told me that upon birthing her two children, she experienced a persistent feeling of 'being unfinished'. Although she felt her own family was complete, she couldn't shake a yearning to experience pregnancy and childbirth again. She would wake in the middle of the night to research how to become a surrogate. Tasmanian trail runner Chelsea had a daughter and didn't want any more children of her own, but also wanted to experience birthing again, while helping someone else experience parenthood. 'Now that I knew the course of the race, I thought I could try and do it and be a bit more present within my body and run a better race, so to speak.' Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Chelsea offered to carry for a same-sex couple she knew. They used an egg donor (also a friend) and the sperm of one parent. She found out she was carrying twins during a check-up, where the dads and egg donor were also present. 'The reaction from everyone was slightly different. They had tears of joy. I had tears of joy, but a little bit of fear of the unknown, because [twins weren't] something we had talked about beforehand as a possibility.' The babies were monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twins; they shared one placenta. That meant Chelsea required significantly more medical monitoring. She gave birth to healthy identical twin girls three months before the retreat. 'The number one question that I get about being a surrogate is how did you feel about giving the baby away? Or in this case, babies. And I never, ever thought of it that way. I always thought of it that I was growing their babies, not that I was giving anything away. 'And once the girls were here it was just amazing to see them [the parents] within the space of a day, just become the amazing dads that I knew that they would be.' Chelsea refers to the four people – the two dads, the egg donor and herself – who created the twins as a 'team'. They experienced the whole process together: from the embryo transfer to monitoring appointments, and they continue to spend time with each other. But as I sat around the fireplace and shared meals with these women at various stages of pregnancy and postpartum, I couldn't help but think they'd giving up a lot to carry for free. Pregnancy and childbirth are not free. In Australia, while payment for surrogates is illegal, intended parents must pay for all their surrogate's 'reasonable expenses', including medical expenses, maternity clothes and lost wages. 'But then there's a question mark because the legislation says it must be reasonable. What's reasonable? Reasonable for you might be different to reasonable for somebody else,' Jefford explains. 'Most surrogates will use their own money to pay for things, not because the intended parents are stingy, but because we are the sort of people that will just be like, 'I'll just pay for hospital parking myself, or I'll pay for the maternity pads.'' In December last year, the federal government announced a review of Australia's surrogacy laws. The review aims to identify reforms and propose harmonised laws across the country. A response to the review is due by the end of July. When Australia's surrogacy laws were drafted, legislators opted for the altruistic surrogacy model as it's often deemed ethically superior to commercial surrogacy, which is susceptible to human trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable women. Jefford has long been opposed to paid surrogacy but recently has come to favour a compensated model of surrogacy in which surrogates are perhaps paid some amount of money, 'as if it's a job'. 'I used to say, when we introduce money into surrogacy, we commodify women and children. What I say now is it's much more nuanced than that,' she says. Jefford explains the idea of compensated surrogacy is different from paying a fee in exchange for a baby. 'That is human trafficking and it's illegal. 'Pregnancy is hard work and risky,' she says. 'This woman comes along and says, 'I'll do this for free'. And I think, 'Well, I'm not giving legal advice for free, and the IVF clinic is not giving free IVF treatment. Why is it that we think that she should be unpaid for what she's doing?'' In Australia, before intended parents and surrogates are legally allowed to undergo surrogacy, they must attend various counselling sessions to ensure they are emotionally equipped to go through the process, that it is consensual, and there is no exploitation. During these sessions, intended parents and surrogates discuss thorny issues such as body autonomy, what happens if anything goes wrong with the pregnancy, what happens if there are signs of genetic abnormalities in the embryo, or any complications that could endanger the life of the surrogate. The aim is to set expectations beforehand, to avoid issues once the baby is born. Despite all the guardrails, things can go sour. At the retreat, surrogates share horror stories about some relationship breakdowns. There was one case in which the surrogate and intended parents had fallen out and were not on speaking terms until shortly before the birth. Another in which the intended parents failed to show up on the day of the birth, leaving the surrogate and her family to care for the baby for a few days, which was distressing. There have been more serious incidents that have ended up in court, one in which a surrogate absconded with the baby, another where a surrogate refused to relinquish the child and consent to a parentage order, the legal document that transfers parentage from the birth parents (usually the surrogate and her partner) to the intended parents. In both cases, the courts ruled in favour of the intended parents, after establishing it had been a surrogacy arrangement. The majority of surrogacy arrangements are successful, however. Surrogates at the retreat, such as D'Arcy, say their lives have been enriched by the experience. 'It's been beautiful to watch this modern family created and seeing all the love that's involved,' she says. Claudianna Blanco is a senior journalist and producer for LiSTNR. Secrets We Keep: By Any Means podcast is out now.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Huge fortress home where couple harbored 21 children was set up like a hotel
From the outside, the imposing castle-like design and gated exterior made the $4.1 million mansion appear like a fortress. Residents admired it as they walked their dogs through the high-end California neighborhood of Arcadia - and assumed the family inside just enjoyed their privacy. That's until they noticed heavily-pregnant women walking around the grounds. For behind the walls lurked a dark secret, with mothers claiming the couple who lived there were running a chilling surrogacy scheme. The owners, couple Guojun Xuan, 65, and Silvia Zhang, 38, made headlines after they were found to have harbored a staggering 21 surrogate babies in the house - 17 of which were under the age of three. A neighbor, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Mail he suspected the couple were operating some sort of 'maternity house' for years - and would see cars driving in and out at all times of night. He recalled: 'Some of them [the pregnant women] were Caucasian. They were exercising and walking around because maybe their backs hurt, or they want to go into labor. 'I heard rumors that this was set up like a hotel. There are nine bedrooms. The talk around the neighborhood is they even had a front desk manager, and it was like coming to a birthing hospital.' Michael Bui, another neighbor, told Daily Mail, he would never see people go in and out and never heard crying. Women who handed over babies to the couple said they believed they were helping to build a loving family and were oblivious to other surrogates recruited across the country, from Pennsylvania to Texas. The alleged ruse continued for years - for reasons that California detectives and the FBI are yet to fully uncover - until the couple brought a two-month-old to the hospital with a traumatic head injury in May. The hospital visit led to a search warrant on the lavish mansion, which turned up the horror discovery of not only the massive brood, but also indoor surveillance cameras depicting nannies 'physically and verbally' abusing the children, Arcadia Police said. When Daily Mail visited the towering property this week, there was no sign of Xuan, Zhang, or anything showing dozens of children spent their childhoods there besides a dilapidated trampoline. Xuan and Zhang were arrested after their May hospital visit and charged with child endangerment, while the Arcadia Police Department also issued an arrest warrant for one of the nannies, named as Chunmei Li, 56. Neighbors told Daily Mail this week that residents on their Arcadia street keep to themselves, enjoying the sunny California weather in the peace of their mansions. They said they were shocked to hear dozens of children lived in the home for years, as they had never seen any toys or strollers outside nor any children playing in the street. Mark Tabal, who lives about a block and a half from the home, said he passes by the castle house several times a day to walk his dog, but had not met the couple. He said: 'I've never seen any of the kids out here. It's a fairly quiet house and I've never seen the owners. Every once in a while, I see a gardener watering the bushes outside. 'It's pretty suspicious to hear the news and knowing this is the house but not hearing anything.' Neighbor Art Romero told CBS News that the huge nine-bedroom, 11-bath home was set up like a hotel, with a large lobby and a desk at the front appearing like a hotel clerk. It is unclear what the couple do for work or how they acquired their considerable wealth, with public records showing they are connected to a number of investment firms. Surrogate mothers who gave their children to the couple have expressed horror at the allegations, saying they believed Zhang and Xuan were clients of a surrogacy company. The FBI is now investigating whether they misled mothers across the country. After the shock allegations made headlines this week, an image emerged showing Zhang smiling at the birth of one of the children, hugging surrogate mother Kayla Elliot, 27, from Texas. In an interview with Center for Bio Ethics and Culture on TikTok, Elliot revealed that when Zhang met her at the hospital, she was handed $2,000, and her mother, boyfriend, son and daughter $200 each. She said that Zhang appeared unemotional about the birth and that she 'wasn't holding the baby.' She said: 'The baby was wrapped in a bassinet... you would think that somebody that wanted a baby so bad would be holding on that baby and loving that baby and just in awe with that baby.' Another surrogate mother in Pennsylvania, who asked to remain anonymous, revealed to KTLA that she is currently still pregnant with a baby intended for the couple. The 15 children found in the home were aged between two-months and 13-years-old, and six others had been given away. All 21 were taken into the custody of Department of Children and Family Services. Bui said on the street outside the home this week that the staggering allegations have left their quiet neighborhood searching for answers. He asked: 'Did they send them to school? 'I don't know why no one found out about the people who carried the children. Twenty-one children! What do you want to do with all of those children?' Surrogate Elliot, 27, is now fighting to regain custody of a baby girl she gave to the couple. She said that she was told that the baby was going to a loving family who only had one child, and believed Xuan and Zhang were clients of a surrogate firm that investigators now allege they owned. She told ABC7: 'It's horrific, it's disturbing, it's damaging emotionally. 'These agencies, we're supposed to trust them and follow their guidance and come to find out this whole thing was a scam, and the parents own the agency - that was not disclosed at all beforehand. Zhang has denied the allegations, and told KTLA that officials are 'misguided and wrong... We look forward to vindicating any such claims at the appropriate time when and if any actions are brought.' Despite Zhang's alleged claim that she just wanted a large family, one expert fears the mega-family may have been connected to trafficking. Kallie Fell, executive director of the nonprofit Center of Bioethics and Culture, told ABC7 that while the couple may not have broken the law by having so many surrogate children, the situation made her fear they were part of a human trafficking ring. Fell, who is working with Elliot, said that the surrogacy industry is unregulated, and often, 'anything goes.' She said: 'These clinics, these agencies are not regulated by any governing body. 'That to me smells of trafficking... What are the intentions of having that many children at home through these assisted reproductive technologies?'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘How did I feel giving the baby away? I never thought of it like that': inside a weekend retreat for surrogate mothers
As I walk out of Hobart airport's small arrivals hall, I immediately spot the person I'm looking for. My contact, Mollie D'Arcy, is standing at the exit, heavily pregnant. Her baby bump isn't the only giveaway – she's holding up a laminated sign in hot pink writing, sticky taped to a retractable light sabre toy. It reads, 'Surrogates on Tour.' It's mid-September 2024 and D'Arcy is this year's Surrogacy Sisterhood Retreat organiser and captain. Since its inception in 2018, it's the first time this event, a roving annual weekend away for surrogates past and present, has made it to Tasmania. 'I'm pretty happy to shout loud and proud that I'm a surrogate,' D'Arcy says. I've been liaising with D'Arcy for weeks. She has helped me gain the other surrogates' consent for me to be the first journalist allowed access to the retreat for a podcast series, Secrets We Keep, on the fertility industry. As we make our way to the luggage collection area, about a dozen excited surrogates begin to trickle in. Most have taken early flights from Queensland and Victoria and two have made it all the way from Western Australia and New Zealand. In no time, the carousel area is gushing with surrogates from all walks of life, ranging from their early 30 to late 40s – admin officers, educators, PR specialists, entrepreneurs and lawyers. Most already know each other, having met at previous retreats or online. All tick the one entry criterion for being here: they've carried a baby for someone else. 'I don't think there's another word that could describe it better than sisterhood,' says family creation lawyer, former surrogate and egg donor, Sarah Jefford. Jefford is one of the Surrogacy Sisterhood Retreat's founders, inspired by a retreat for Canadian surrogates. 'We'll have some surrogates who are pregnant, some that have just birthed, some that haven't even gone through the process yet, and we share all the different aspects of good, positive journeys or challenging or negative journeys,' she says. 'It's all welcome.' Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Altruistic surrogacy is the only legal option for surrogacy in Australia; it's rare and heavily regulated. Jefford estimates there are between 130 and 150 altruistic surrogacy births in Australia each year and roughly 80% of these arrangements are between family members and friends, while 20% occur among strangers. Laws differ between states, but hopeful parents in Australia cannot pay a surrogate for carrying, or advertise they need a one to create a family. Women who wish to become surrogates must offer voluntarily. The regulatory environment has meant those seeking a surrogate, and those keen to be one, must turn to informal structures to find each other – the most significant one being a closed Facebook group where intended parents and surrogate candidates post their photos, introductions and bona fides as potential parents or surrogates. Then, interested parties slide into each other's DMs, hoping to match with each other. I was curious to learn more about the women who lend their wombs to carry a baby for strangers they'd met online. As we climb into a convoy of cars to head to the farm in Bothwell, an hour's drive from Hobart, where the retreat is being held, D'Arcy is busily pasting up 'Surrogacy Express' signs on each vehicle – also in hot pink writing. D'Arcy was exposed to surrogacy through working at an IVF clinic. She became fascinated by the concept after witnessing some of the first Tasmanian surrogacy arrangements come through the clinic, shortly after it became legal in 2012. 'I felt so deeply for these people who couldn't have a baby, knowing that I have always wanted a family. I really thought maybe I could be a surrogate. It felt like something I was capable of.' At the time, she had not yet had her own two children. 'Then, when I fell pregnant [with my first child] so easily, I thought, 'Wow, I could really help someone else do this',' she says. 'And then, when I was pregnant with my second child, I started researching how to become a surrogate.' D'Arcy stumbled across the Australian Surrogacy Community group on Facebook. She met some couples, but they didn't hit it off. Then she connected with a same-sex couple. 'I just really liked them. And after conversations via social media, when I met them in person, I just clicked with them really, really well.' When I met D'Arcy at the retreat, she was almost seven months into her second surrogacy pregnancy for the same couple. Over the weekend, the activities include chats around the fireplace, communal meals, nature walks, yoga and crafts. Every activity is optional, and some take place simultaneously. While the bulk of the Queensland contingent decides to drive out to see the snow, the Victorian and Tasmanian surrogates opt for a yoga class. Apart from mealtimes, no schedule is set. Through it all, there are deep and candid conversations about womanhood and motherhood. From the mundane logistics of parenting to surrogate heart-to-hearts: the venting of niggles or annoyances of their relationships (with their partners and with the intended parents they carried for) to detailed and graphic descriptions of intimate medical procedures. The mood is one of total release. But the one topic that dominates every conversation is pregnancy, and how pregnancy affected each of these surrogates. Even under the best, low-risk circumstances, pregnancy takes its toll on mind and body, so I ask, 'Why go through all that for someone else?' Time and time again, the women report that they want to help someone else create a family. But that isn't the only reason – another powerful driver many raise is the need to satiate a deep, personal feeling of 'not being done'. Sarah Jefford became a surrogate and an egg donor after an excruciating IVF experience. Once she finally became a mother of two, she felt she wanted 'to have another pregnancy and birth and not raise the baby'. 'If you're wanting to be pregnant and then you find out you're pregnant, it's just the best,' Jefford adds. She describes this feeling as 'baby lust'. Some surrogates, such as Queensland educator SJ, who did not want to use her real name, told me that upon birthing her two children, she experienced a persistent feeling of 'being unfinished'. Although she felt her own family was complete, she couldn't shake a yearning to experience pregnancy and childbirth again. She would wake in the middle of the night to research how to become a surrogate. Tasmanian trail runner Chelsea had a daughter and didn't want any more children of her own, but also wanted to experience birthing again, while helping someone else experience parenthood. 'Now that I knew the course of the race, I thought I could try and do it and be a bit more present within my body and run a better race, so to speak.' Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Chelsea offered to carry for a same-sex couple she knew. They used an egg donor (also a friend) and the sperm of one parent. She found out she was carrying twins during a check-up, where the dads and egg donor were also present. 'The reaction from everyone was slightly different. They had tears of joy. I had tears of joy, but a little bit of fear of the unknown, because [twins weren't] something we had talked about beforehand as a possibility.' The babies were monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twins; they shared one placenta. That meant Chealsea required significantly more medical monitoring. She gave birth to healthy identical twin girls three months before the retreat. 'The number one question that I get about being a surrogate is how did you feel about giving the baby away? Or in this case, babies. And I never, ever thought of it that way. I always thought of it that I was growing their babies, not that I was giving anything away. 'And once the girls were here it was just amazing to see them [the parents] within the space of a day, just become the amazing dads that I knew that they would be.' Chelsea refers to the four people – the two dads, the egg donor and herself – who created the twins as a 'team'. They experienced the whole process together: from the embryo transfer to monitoring appointments, and they continue to spend time with each other. But as I sat around the fireplace and shared meals with these women at various stages of pregnancy and postpartum, I couldn't help but think they'd giving up a lot to carry for free. Pregnancy and childbirth are not free. In Australia, while payment for surrogates is illegal, intended parents must pay for all their surrogate's 'reasonable expenses', including medical expenses, maternity clothes and lost wages. 'But then there's a question mark because the legislation says it must be reasonable. What's reasonable? Reasonable for you might be different to reasonable for somebody else,' Jefford explains. 'Most surrogates will use their own money to pay for things, not because the intended parents are stingy, but because we are the sort of people that will just be like, 'I'll just pay for hospital parking myself, or I'll pay for the maternity pads.'' In December last year, the federal government announced a review of Australia's surrogacy laws. The review aims to identify reforms and propose harmonised laws across the country. A response to the review is due by the end of July. When Australia's surrogacy laws were drafted, legislators opted for the altruistic surrogacy model as it's often deemed ethically superior to commercial surrogacy, which is susceptible to human trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable women. Jefford has long been opposed to paid surrogacy but recently has come to favour a compensated model of surrogacy in which surrogates are perhaps paid some amount of money, 'as if it's a job'. 'I used to say, when we introduce money into surrogacy, we commodify women and children. What I say now is it's much more nuanced than that,' she says. Jefford explains the idea of compensated surrogacy is different from paying a fee in exchange for a baby. 'That is human trafficking and it's illegal. 'Pregnancy is hard work and risky,' she says. 'This woman comes along and says, 'I'll do this for free'. And I think, 'Well, I'm not giving legal advice for free, and the IVF clinic is not giving free IVF treatment. Why is it that we think that she should be unpaid for what she's doing?'' In Australia, before intended parents and surrogates are legally allowed to undergo surrogacy, they must attend various counselling sessions to ensure they are emotionally equipped to go through the process, that it is consensual and there is no exploitation. During these sessions, intended parents and surrogates discuss thorny issues such as body autonomy, what happens if anything goes wrong with the pregnancy, what happens if there are signs of genetic abnormalities in the embryo, or any complications that could endanger the life of the surrogate. The aim is to set expectations beforehand, to avoid issues once the baby is born. Despite all the guardrails, things can go sour. At the retreat, surrogates share horror stories about some relationship breakdowns. There was one case in which the surrogate and intended parents had fallen out and were not on speaking terms until shortly before the birth. Another in which the intended parents failed to show up on the day of the birth, leaving the surrogate and her family to care for the baby for a few days, which was distressing. There have been more serious incidents that have ended up in court, one in which a surrogate absconded with the baby, another where a surrogate refused to relinquish the child and consent to a parentage order, the legal document that transfers parentage from the birth parents (usually the surrogate and her partner) to the intended parents. In both cases, the courts ruled in favour of the intended parents, after establishing it had been a surrogacy arrangement. The majority of surrogacy arrangements are successful, however. Surrogates at the retreat, such as D'Arcy, say their lives have been enriched by the experience. 'It's been beautiful to watch this modern family created and seeing all the love that's involved,' she says. Claudianna Blanco is a senior journalist and producer for LiSTNR. Secrets We Keep: By Any Means podcast is out now.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Two surrogates speak out about California couple under investigation
California Couple Surrogacy LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who almost served as a surrogate for a Southern California couple now under investigation by authorities said she backed out after the couple asked her if any of her friends would like to carry a child for them too. The request as well as conflicting information she was getting left the woman, Esperanza, unnerved and she decided not to sign a surrogacy contract with Silvia Zhang, who offered her $60,000. Esperanza spoke to The Associated Press on the condition that her last name not be used because she has not shared her surrogacy experience publicly. Zhang, 38, and her husband, Guojun Xuan, 65, are now the target of an investigation by local and federal authorities after their infant child was taken to the hospital with a traumatic head injury in May. Authorities have since taken 21 children from the couple's custody, many of whom were born by surrogate, said Lt. Kollin Cieadlo of the Arcadia Police Department, near Los Angeles. Surrogacy is an agreement between parties for a woman to become pregnant, typically through an embryo transfer, and deliver a baby for the intended person or couple to raise. The children range in age from 2 months to 13 years, with most between 1 and 3. Federal authorities' role in investigation Esperanza is one of at least eight women who say they were aggressively pursued by the couple to serve as surrogates. The women, many of whom were first-time surrogates, say they were given misleading or incomplete information about the couple's family situation and intentions. Some, like Esperanza, did not move forward with carrying a child for the couple. Another who did, Kayla Elliott, is now trying to get custody of a baby she birthed in March for the couple. Arcadia police say the FBI is involved in the investigation over whether the couple misled surrogates around the country. The FBI has not confirmed its investigation. Elliott said she was interviewed by the FBI at the end of May. Elliott worked through a business called Mark Surrogacy, according to the contract she signed and shared with the AP. California state records show a company called Mark Surrogacy Investments LLC registered at the company's Arcadia home until this June. Elliot's contract listed an El Monte address for the company. An AP reporter visited that location Thursday and did not find anyone who recognized the names of the couple or Mark Surrogacy. Zhang did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. Lawyers for Mark Surrogacy did not respond to emails seeking comment, nor did a fertility clinic involved in the embryo transfer. In social media posts, other women who say they served as surrogates for Zhang and Xuan outlined suspicious actions including the couple not fulfilling payment obligations and weren't present for the children's births. Many women contacted by the AP did not respond or said they would only speak after securing an attorney. Injured infant draws concern Zhang and Xuan were arrested in May after a hospital reported that their 2-month-old infant had a traumatic head injury, the result of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby, according to Arcadia police. Arcadia police did not file charges at the time, in order to finish a full investigation, Cieadlo said, and detectives were looking into possible child abuse charges and anticipated presenting a case in a few weeks. The couple told police that they 'wanted a large family" and produced what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates, including some from outside California, that list Zhang as the mother of the children, Cieadlo said. Xuan was listed as the father on at least some of the birth certificates, Cieadlo said. Potential surrogate backs out Esperanza's dealings with Zhang began in 2023. She had posted in a Facebook group for people interested in surrogacy and received a message from Zhang. Zhang said she and her partner already had an 8-year-old daughter in China but were having fertility issues. Zhang said she was working with a surrogate who was already pregnant but that she wanted 'twins," so she was pursuing a second surrogate. But Esperanza said things started to feel amiss after Zhang asked if she had any friends who also wanted to be surrogates. 'She said that she's a realtor in Arcadia and that's how she has a lot of money and was able to afford a lot of surrogates at the time,' Esperanza said. Esperanza backed out of the surrogacy after the lawyer for the couple abruptly hung up on her while discussing the contract. She said the document said the couple would implant two embryos instead of one and the section requiring background information on the couple was cut out. The couple became angry when she decided not to move forward. Esperanza showed text messages to the AP that showed Zhang offering $3,000 more if she agreed to keep going, and another $2,000 bonus after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Surrogate who wants custody of child Elliott gave birth to a baby girl in March. She chose to be a surrogate because she 'really wanted to give somebody a family.' The Texas woman began the process when Mark Surrogacy reached out to her directly on Facebook. She signed a contract listing Xuan and Zhang as the intended parents. The contract said Elliott would receive $65,000 in a series of payments by the end of her 16th gestational week. Elliott became wary when early in the pregnancy she flew to California to meet the couple and only Xuan showed up. As the process went on, Elliott had almost no direct contact with the Xuan and Zhang, which is uncommon in surrogacy. Most of the messaging was through texts and emails with representatives from the agency, who discouraged her from reaching out to Zhang. 'The agency was always like, 'Oh, they're very busy people,'' she said. When she learned that the couple had at least two other surrogates having babies for them, she was told by the agency 'they just want a big family." Elliott flew to California for the embryo transfer, which was done at Western Fertility Institute in Los Angeles. The clinic declined to comment on the investigation. Neither parent were there for Elliott's labor or delivery, and only Zhang showed up a few hours after the baby was born. The woman 'didn't seem very connected with the child ... she kind of barely looked at her," Elliott said. After handing Elliott $2,000 in cash and giving three of her family members in the room $200 each, the woman left with the baby girl. Now, Elliott wants custody of the girl and says she just hopes all the babies are safe. When the news first broke about the couple, she confronted Zhang on the phone and over text. In text messages Elliott showed to the AP, Zhang wrote: 'All the babies really important in our life.' __ Golden reported from Seattle. AP journalist Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Two surrogates speak out about California couple under investigation
A woman who almost served as a surrogate for a Southern California couple now under investigation by authorities said she backed out after the couple asked her if any of her friends would like to carry a child for them too. The request as well as conflicting information she was getting left the woman, Esperanza, unnerved and she decided not to sign a surrogacy contract with Silvia Zhang, who offered her $60,000. Esperanza spoke to The Associated Press on the condition that her last name not be used because she has not shared her surrogacy experience publicly. Zhang, 38, and her husband, Guojun Xuan, 65, are now the target of an investigation by local and federal authorities after their infant child was taken to the hospital with a traumatic head injury in May. Authorities have since taken 21 children from the couple's custody, many of whom were born by surrogate, said Lt. Kollin Cieadlo of the Arcadia Police Department, near Los Angeles. Surrogacy is an agreement between parties for a woman to become pregnant, typically through an embryo transfer, and deliver a baby for the intended person or couple to raise. The children range in age from 2 months to 13 years, with most between 1 and 3. Federal authorities' role in investigation Esperanza is one of at least eight women who say they were aggressively pursued by the couple to serve as surrogates. The women, many of whom were first-time surrogates, say they were given misleading or incomplete information about the couple's family situation and intentions. Some, like Esperanza, did not move forward with carrying a child for the couple. Another who did, Kayla Elliott, is now trying to get custody of a baby she birthed in March for the couple. Arcadia police say the FBI is involved in the investigation over whether the couple misled surrogates around the country. The FBI has not confirmed its investigation. Elliott said she was interviewed by the FBI at the end of May. Elliott worked through a business called Mark Surrogacy, according to the contract she signed and shared with the AP. California state records show a company called Mark Surrogacy Investments LLC registered at the company's Arcadia home until this June. Elliot's contract listed an El Monte address for the company. An AP reporter visited that location Thursday and did not find anyone who recognized the names of the couple or Mark Surrogacy. Zhang did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. Lawyers for Mark Surrogacy did not respond to emails seeking comment, nor did a fertility clinic involved in the embryo transfer. In social media posts, other women who say they served as surrogates for Zhang and Xuan outlined suspicious actions including the couple not fulfilling payment obligations and weren't present for the children's births. Many women contacted by the AP did not respond or said they would only speak after securing an attorney. Injured infant draws concern Zhang and Xuan were arrested in May after a hospital reported that their 2-month-old infant had a traumatic head injury, the result of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby, according to Arcadia police. Arcadia police did not file charges at the time, in order to finish a full investigation, Cieadlo said, and detectives were looking into possible child abuse charges and anticipated presenting a case in a few weeks. The couple told police that they 'wanted a large family" and produced what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates, including some from outside California, that list Zhang as the mother of the children, Cieadlo said. Xuan was listed as the father on at least some of the birth certificates, Cieadlo said. Potential surrogate backs out Esperanza's dealings with Zhang began in 2023. She had posted in a Facebook group for people interested in surrogacy and received a message from Zhang. Zhang said she and her partner already had an 8-year-old daughter in China but were having fertility issues. Zhang said she was working with a surrogate who was already pregnant but that she wanted 'twins," so she was pursuing a second surrogate. But Esperanza said things started to feel amiss after Zhang asked if she had any friends who also wanted to be surrogates. 'She said that she's a realtor in Arcadia and that's how she has a lot of money and was able to afford a lot of surrogates at the time,' Esperanza said. Esperanza backed out of the surrogacy after the lawyer for the couple abruptly hung up on her while discussing the contract. She said the document said the couple would implant two embryos instead of one and the section requiring background information on the couple was cut out. The couple became angry when she decided not to move forward. Esperanza showed text messages to the AP that showed Zhang offering $3,000 more if she agreed to keep going, and another $2,000 bonus after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Surrogate who wants custody of child Elliott gave birth to a baby girl in March. She chose to be a surrogate because she 'really wanted to give somebody a family.' The Texas woman began the process when Mark Surrogacy reached out to her directly on Facebook. She signed a contract listing Xuan and Zhang as the intended parents. The contract said Elliott would receive $65,000 in a series of payments by the end of her 16th gestational week. Elliott became wary when early in the pregnancy she flew to California to meet the couple and only Xuan showed up. As the process went on, Elliott had almost no direct contact with the Xuan and Zhang, which is uncommon in surrogacy. Most of the messaging was through texts and emails with representatives from the agency, who discouraged her from reaching out to Zhang. 'The agency was always like, 'Oh, they're very busy people,'' she said. When she learned that the couple had at least two other surrogates having babies for them, she was told by the agency 'they just want a big family." Elliott flew to California for the embryo transfer, which was done at Western Fertility Institute in Los Angeles. The clinic declined to comment on the investigation. Neither parent were there for Elliott's labor or delivery, and only Zhang showed up a few hours after the baby was born. The woman 'didn't seem very connected with the child ... she kind of barely looked at her," Elliott said. After handing Elliott $2,000 in cash and giving three of her family members in the room $200 each, the woman left with the baby girl. Now, Elliott wants custody of the girl and says she just hopes all the babies are safe. When the news first broke about the couple, she confronted Zhang on the phone and over text. In text messages Elliott showed to the AP, Zhang wrote: 'All the babies really important in our life.' __ Golden reported from Seattle. AP journalist Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.
