Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, in a basement on the outskirts, has rows of cribs and trolleys with more than a dozen newborns in it. Trapped with them in Kiev, including the nurses who took care of them, gave birth to their surrogate mother. This group of women and children, who should not remain in the war zone, helplessly survived the war. Text/Gua Brother Family
The outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War had a serious impact on the surrogacy industry in Ukraine, and the Financial Family learned that some pregnant surrogate mothers had fled the war zone at the beginning, but in the end they were forced to return to Kiev, hide in bomb shelters, and give birth to children for the rich, because they could not give birth in the surrounding countries that banned commercial surrogacy.
Why Ukraine is called the "womb" of Europe
Since 2015, the International Surrogacy Business Center has moved from Southeast Asia and South Asia to Ukraine, a phenomenon that has been caused by the strict ban on commercial surrogacy in India, Nepal and Thailand. About 2,500 babies are born every year through surrogacy in Ukraine, and their parents come from all over the world, including the United States, Australia, Ireland, China and other countries.
Surrogacy and commercial surrogacy are legal in Ukraine and the relevant laws are clear. From the beginning of pregnancy, expectant parents have full parental rights. Secondly, there are many large surrogacy centers in the local area, with mature medical equipment and technology, and a guaranteed environment. In terms of price, the surrogacy package in Ukraine only costs two or three hundred thousand yuan, which is cheaper than the United States five or six hundred thousand.
On top of that, the country is in trouble. Ukraine's GDP fell sharply after civil unrest in 2014, becoming the poorest country in Europe in 2018, with unemployment rising rapidly and debt accumulating more quickly on IMF accounts than Greece.
The surrogacy industry is rising rapidly, and for locals, the income from surrogacy is considerable. While about half of the surrogacy fees will be taken away by intermediaries, and surrogate mothers will only get about $15,000, that's about three times the average annual salary for locals. Therefore, in Ukraine, surrogate mothers have great choices, and egg donors also have options, advertised internationally: super cost-effective.
For Europeans, Ukraine is clearly better at geographically and culturally identity than India, Nepal and Thailand. As some media outlets have described, Ukraine is gradually becoming europe's "womb.".
The sorrow of surrogate women
However, the sudden Russo-Ukrainian war had a strong impact on the grey industry. As a vulnerable pregnant woman, the surrogate mother was not only left unprotected, but was even forced to return to the war zone.
A surrogacy center in Kiev called "BioTexCom" has chosen to flee because it is difficult to function properly. But as the due date approached, the surrogacy center asked the women to return under fire and honor their contracts.
The center's legal counsel warned surrogates not to give birth in neighboring countries, which explicitly prohibited commercial surrogacy for profit. Once they give birth abroad, they will face a range of legal issues. Therefore, the "BioTexCom" surrogacy center converted the local bomb shelter into a temporary delivery room to arrange for these pregnant women to have children.
The center said surrogates who were forced to return also had their own concerns because they might not be able to get paid for their surrogacy if they defaulted. According to the center's offer, the cost of surrogacy is about $43,000 to $70,000.
However, having a baby does not mean the end
Usually, foreign parents who choose to look for surrogacy in Ukraine need to go to Ukraine to complete the relevant documents before the baby is born and then take them with them after the baby is born. Nurses who remain in the war zone to care for newborns have revealed that so far only two couples from Germany and Argentina have come to the war zone to take their children.
An American couple tries to "save" two premature surrogate children brought by a Ukrainian surrogate mother who was escorted to Poland already but ended up having to return to Ukraine to find her own child. A couple recently managed to take their son out of Ukraine, but the surrogate mother was left in the war zone, and her safety was not taken care of.
On Monday, two Chinese tried to leave Ukraine with two babies but were arrested. The Ukrainian prosecutor's office told media on Wednesday that two Chinese were university students studying in Kiev, the baby was born to a surrogate mother, and the two were helping Chinese acquaintances smuggle two three-month-old babies through Ukraine's borders to Romania.
In fact, long before the outbreak of war, surrogate mothers and surrogate children were once in trouble due to the coronavirus epidemic in the past two years. In May 2020, Ukraine entered a state of lockdown due to the epidemic, and foreign parents must obtain special permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enter Ukraine.
At the time, BioTexCom had to care for more than 70 newborn babies at the same time, and unofficial statistics showed at least 100 babies waiting for their birth parents. It was not until September of the same year that the entry conditions were gradually relaxed.
Vulnerable groups that buy and sell
Many countries prohibit commercial surrogacy for a reason. Surrogates have always been in a vulnerable position in the business dealings.
Due to the discord with her fiancé, actress Zheng Shuang decided to give up two surrogate children, which caused an uproar at the beginning of last year. Surrogate children have no contact with their biological parents before birth, their emotional base is unstable, and blood thicker than water can be said to be just an empty phrase.
As difficult as the children, the Gua Brothers feel that they are the only ones who are surrogate mothers.
A report by the China Finance and Accounting Network mentioned that a Ukrainian woman chose to become a surrogate mother to alleviate financial difficulties. However, during the surrogacy, she was not well taken care of by the intermediary, and she could not even confide in outsiders about the pain of pregnancy, otherwise she would be severely punished, such as not being paid.
Some surrogate mothers have problems with pregnancy and childbirth, and in the end they have to bear the medical costs themselves in order to recover.
In commercial surrogacy, although surrogate women are working, they are paid for their bodies and services. But after pregnancy, they can't choose to resign, they can only be subject to others everywhere.
In 2016, a Ukrainian surrogate mother gave birth to a pair of dragon and phoenix fetuses, but due to premature birth, the male baby in the twins died, and the female baby suffered from brain damage and had to undergo physical and mental injury treatment. Their Australian birth parents decided to give up their baby girl and let her grow up in an orphanage in southeastern Ukraine.
Surrogacy is not medically difficult, and there is still a great deal of controversy because it involves ethical and social issues that have not been properly addressed so far. These problems may have gone unnoticed during the boom, but exposed to the spotlight of war, a large number of ill-fated surrogate mothers and fresh little lives are still struggling in the cold, dim underground bomb shelters.