In China, it has become controversial that a 17-year-old girl gave birth to twins as a surrogate for a 50-year-old Namsung.
On the 24th, ‘Shang Guanzheng’, an anti-human trafficking activist in China, revealed on social media (SNS) that 'a minor, born in May 2007, gave birth to twins as a surrogate for a 50-year-old Namsung on the 2nd of last month.'
Shang Guanzheng noted, 'According to a case obtained from a surrogacy agency in Guangzhou, the girl was only 16 when the embryo was implanted (through in vitro fertilization),' and stated, 'The issue of surrogacy is gradually expanding to minors.'
The 17-year-old woman who gave birth as a surrogate is from the Yi ethnic group in China, and it has been reported that Yi women have a high rate of involvement in the surrogacy industry.
It was added that the money received by egg donors is determined by their education level, with 100,000 yuan (about 20 million won) for a bachelor's degree, and 150,000 yuan (about 30 million won) for a master's degree.
The commission taken by surrogacy agencies is reportedly between 180,000 and 200,000 yuan (about 40 million won) for one person, and between 200,000 and 240,000 yuan (about 50 million won) for twins.
Shang Guanzheng stated, 'According to the contract, this unmarried man ultimately paid 900,000 yuan (about 180 million won),' adding that 'the surrogate claimed she was unaware that she was a minor.'
'You are aware that the girl is still too young, do you not have a conscience?' Shang Guanzheng urged the surrogacy agency, asking them to 'thoroughly investigate and punish illegal surrogacy businesses.'
Although surrogacy in China is illegal, the demand due to infertility and other reasons is so high that related businesses are secretly thriving.
Shang Guanzheng's revelations have sparked intense interest, ranking as the top trending search on Baidu, China's largest portal site, but the content was soon deleted, seemingly censored. The position of the authorities has not yet been released.
Chinese netizens reacted by saying, 'Surrogacy is human trafficking and organ trafficking.'