California Couple’s Alleged Child Abuse Highlights Surrogacy Industry Concerns

A recent case in California has brought attention to significant issues within the surrogacy industry. Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested for allegedly abusing children born via surrogacy. They ran a surrogacy agency from their home in Arcadia, California.

According to Kallie Fell, executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, the surrogacy industry lacks regulations and oversight, resembling a ‘wild west’ environment. Fell frequently deals with alarming stories in her work, making this case less surprising to her.

Authorities revealed that Xuan and Zhang mistreated at least 14 children, some as young as 2 months old. The Los Angeles County District Attorney, Nathan Hochman, described the abuse as severe, stating, ‘This was not a home where these children were loved and nurtured.’ The children were allegedly subjected to systematic punishment if they disobeyed instructions.

The couple also operated Future Spring Surrogacy, which recruited surrogates and paid them substantial sums. Reports claim at least eight surrogates faced coercion and misinformation about the couple’s living conditions.

In California, no license is needed to start a surrogacy agency, nor is there a regulatory framework to manage the industry. Surrogacy generates billions globally, helping couples unable to conceive naturally. However, experts like Fell argue that the absence of regulations leaves children born through surrogacy vulnerable.

Fell draws comparisons with foster parenting, where prospective parents undergo extensive scrutiny and background checks, which are not required for surrogacy. As the practice has grown, wealthy foreign nationals, notably from China, increasingly use American surrogates to gain U.S. birthright citizenship for their children.

The Heritage Foundation reported in 2024 that commercial surrogacy is illegal in China, prompting many Chinese individuals and couples to look to the U.S. for surrogacy options. The lack of federal regulation in the U.S. allows this practice to continue, spurring calls from individuals like Fell to tighten borders against international surrogacy.