The central government has said it will take a tougher stance on surrogacy, a practice that has grown underground in China as infertility has increased.
“Surrogacy upsets the natural order of childbirth and poses potential health risks,” the statement said. It added the practice contradicts the government’s population policy.
A health commission spokesman later said that regulators will ban any businesses related to the practice.
This is the strongest signal about surrogate motherhood that the government has ever sent. China has no law on surrogacy, but in 2001, health officials banned the trading of fertilized eggs and embryos, and prohibited hospitals from assisting surrogate pregnancies.
These rules forced the practice underground, and the industry uses the Internet to advertise and provide information to people.
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As part of the crackdown, Internet and telecom regulators will prohibit content about surrogacy from appearing on the net, and the health commission will order newspapers and magazines to remove all surrogacy-service-related information from their publications and sites.
Medical institutions, doctors and middlemen involved in the business will be punished according to the law and regulations, the statement said. Medical equipment and drugs that are used in surrogacy will also be monitored.
Read full, original article: China cracks down on surrogate births, even as infertility rises
