Chinese Man Faces Backlash for Secret Surrogacy to Ensure Male Heir
Code Maternity: Chinese Man Faces Backlash for Secretly Using Surrogate Due to Pressure to Have a Male Heir In a recent scandal that has sparked controversy and debate in China, a man from Hunan province has come under fire for secretly using a surrogate mother to give birth to a child without the knowledge or consent of his estranged 29-year-old daughter - all because she refused to get married and have children.
14 March 2024
The man, identified only as Mr. Guo, reportedly arranged for his wife to have a baby boy through a surrogacy agency in the hopes of continuing his family lineage. The news first broke when a netizen alerted reporters from a local news outlet, claiming that many "surrogate mothers" were being arranged to stay near the Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Changsha, Hunan. The individual credited Dr. Li, head of the Obstetrics department at the hospital, for facilitating the process of obtaining birth certificates and other medical documents for these babies. The story took an even more dramatic turn when Guo's estranged wife, known only as Madam Guo, revealed to reporters from the same news outlet that she discovered she was a mother of a newborn baby girl on September 23rd last year. She found out that her husband had secretly hired a surrogate mother to give birth to a child due to their daughter's refusal to get married and start a family. Shocked and heartbroken, Madam Guo later said in an interview with the news outlet, "When I got home that day, I found a newborn baby girl in my house. After asking around, I found out that my husband had secretly hired a surrogate mother to give birth to her." Madam Guo's experience has drawn widespread criticism and sympathy from netizens, many of whom expressed shock and disbelief at Mr. Guo's actions and questioned his motives. One user wrote, "What on earth was this father thinking?
Did he really think he had the ability to pull off something like this? Who's going to raise the child now? This is simply incomprehensible." Legal experts argue that the contract signed for the surrogacy arrangement is invalid. According to the civil law in China, citizens are prohibited from engaging in activities that violate the law or go against social norms and morality. Any agreements made in violation of these principles are considered unenforceable. In a statement released earlier this week, CCTV also echoed this sentiment, stating that contracts related to surrogacy arrangements are null and void.
Some Chinese citizens have noted that it's not uncommon for older generations to prioritize having male heirs, and many have shared similar experiences from their own lives. One user commented, "I have several friends and relatives who only gave birth to daughters in their youth, and now they're in their 40s and have had a boy. The reasons vary, but one is the hope that a son will carry on the family lineage, while another is for the parents to have someone to take care of them in their old age." As the story continues to make headlines in China, netizens have expressed their sympathy for Madam Guo and criticized the actions of her husband. Many have called for the father to take responsibility for his decisions and to consider the impact they have had on his family. One user wrote, "This is just an excuse to absolve oneself of guilt. Maybe that kid isn't even the result of a surrogacy arrangement but was conceived through an affair. Can't we just be more understanding and empathetic towards each other?" Another user commented on the surrogacy arrangement itself, saying, "The world has gone mad. People keep making excuses and blaming others for their actions. How can you not see the irony in this? If you had a son, wouldn't you have blamed your daughter for not getting married and having children?"