American policymakers need to get serious about countering the threat from communist China. While the House China Select Committee has announced it will be investigating Chinese investment in U.S. research and academia, farmland, entertainment, social media, and defense contracts, it should also examine the Chinese “rent-a-womb” industry in America.
Increasingly, Chinese nationals are using American surrogates to bear their children. Thanks to in vitro fertilization, they don’t even need to leave China.
The practice arises from differences in Chinese and American laws and may be driven by both the desire to become parents and the desire for U.S. citizenship. But there is a national security risk involved too. Washington has no idea who these children or their parents are.
The Allure of America
In China, decades of a strict “one child” policy have produced an aging population, with many citizens past childbearing age. Yet China bans all forms of surrogacy. What’s an infertile couple wanting children — or men wishing to become fathers but unable to find a willing female partner — to do? Many turn to American surrogates as the solution. Chinese leaders have no problem with that.
Seeking to further boost the birthrate, Sichuan and Guangdong provinces have relaxed their birth registration requirements. Marriage is no longer required to receive hukou — China’s education and social services. And parents can register as many children as they want without penalty.
On top of that is the lure of America’s “birth citizenship” policy. Chinese children birthed by an American surrogate
