China’s health authorities recently announced that they are to enforce surrogate birth ban, adding that they will have a partnership with the police and 10 more government agencies.
This endeavor, which aims to lock the birth alternative down, will run until the end of this year.
According to a note in the National Health and Family Planning Commission's website, surrogacy "severely interferes with China's lawful infertility treatments and the natural means by which married couples bear children, damages public health and impacts the implementation of the national birth policy."
Surrogate birth is considered illegal under the Chinese law; however, the country is still thrived with underground surrogate mothers as well as other services offered by sex workers, according to the paper Want China Times.
As married couples with fertility problems continue to seek for birth alternatives, many turn to substitutes that are against the law. Other illicit acts related to surrogate birth services, such as prostitution, also flourish in the underground market.
The providers of such services also utilize the power of the Internet, given the platform's anonymity offering. The online news site also said that this has become a prime hindrance for the authorities to control the issue of surrogacy.
Sex rings are also advertised frequently on various social media sites such as Sina Weibo and WeChat. Reports claim that these Web-based portals provide surrogate services via cohabitation.
The advertisements suggest the involvement of sexual intercourse. Some of the agents offer "foreign ovum" and even display enticing photos of attractive, young ladies. However, it still unclear whether these agents mediate between the married couples and the surrogate mothers.
Apart from online presence, surrogacy services also proliferate as home business too.