Fertility Inc.: One Dad, One Hundred Babies
Key Takeaways
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Wealthy foreigners exploit unregulated US surrogacy markets
“It's possible because there's a network of companies that are designed to cater to the whims of the very rich that are operating in a space nearly wholly devoid of regulation.”
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Some clients order hundreds of children simultaneously
“Another surrogacy agency owner said that he had helped fill an order for over 100 children born through surrogacy.”
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Federal laws for surrogacy do not exist
“Despite the fact that surrogacy is a multi-billion dollar industry, there are no federal laws regulating it.”
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Elon Musk inspires ultra-wealthy pro-natalist goals
“Elon Musk has 14 kids. I think it's a dramatic inspiration for Chinese businessman.”
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Nannies frequently replace parents during hospital discharges
“We've spoken with a few surrogates who've said that the children they carried and gave birth to were ultimately picked up at the hospital, not by the parents, but by nannies”
Episode Description
In the third episode from the fringes of the fertility industry, The Journal examines the rise of the surrogacy superuser. In the absence of meaningful regulation, the industry has enabled a new phenomenon of wealthy foreign men having dozens of children via surrogacy in the U.S. Ryan Knutson speaks with WSJ’s Katherine Long, who reports on the strange case of Xu Bo, a Chinese tech entrepreneur on a mission to have a mega-family. Further Listening: - Fertility Inc.: ‘Our Money Was Gone’ - Fertility Inc.: When the Surrogate Gets Left With the Bill - Listen to all the Fertility Inc. episodes Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices