Surrogacy story in the New Yorker: CA baby collectors…so sick

[Anonymous]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/the-babies-kept-in-a-mysterious-los-angeles-mansion

I have the print edition of the magazine and don’t know how to post a gift link, but has anyone else read this?

A couple have 20+ children, an abused hospitalized baby, the kids are in foster care , AND they have a new surrogate pregnant since everything came out into the news and legal system. The entire thing is shocking to me and makes me feel sick. I don’t understand why there’s no regulation around this. Please discuss. I’m reeling.

[Anonymous]

I’ve followed this since the story broke.

The obvious conclusion is surrogate babies were being raised to later be dissected for their organs in China.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve followed this since the story broke.

The obvious conclusion is surrogate babies were being raised to later be dissected for their organs in China.

No. Read the New Yorker article. They weren’t in it to make money—they spent a ton on the surrogates and there’s no effort to sell then. The most plausible theory imo is the one voiced by the employees: The bio dad has a grandiose desire to be related to a US president, and so he’s trying to maximize his chances by having as many kids as possible.

[Anonymous]

This is where I think the EU gets it right about outlawing surrogacy because they see it as exploitation of a woman's body.
In this case, there is exploitation involved too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve followed this since the story broke.

The obvious conclusion is surrogate babies were being raised to later be dissected for their organs in China.

No. Read the New Yorker article. They weren’t in it to make money—they spent a ton on the surrogates and there’s no effort to sell then. The most plausible theory imo is the one voiced by the employees: The bio dad has a grandiose desire to be related to a US president, and so he’s trying to maximize his chances by having as many kids as possible.

This isn't grandiose, this is legit insane.
Poor children.

And these people are criminals of the highest order starting from the source of their wealth to the scam they ran with the surrogates. Geez, this country gave its citizenship to a pair of really upstanding individuals.

[Anonymous]

This story is equally crazy, if not more so. What in the world??
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/mum-27-who-22-kids-35938919

[Anonymous]

I have less of a problem with surrogacy than many here (no, I haven't used one but I have two HS FB level friends who have been surrogates) but yes, this is nuts and needs more regulation. Mostly what I have seen is midddle class religious women who love being pregnant and want to give ONE child tto a couple that has suffered startling losses in their own journey to creating a family as part of wwhat they viewe as doin the Lord's work. Whatever, fine. Creating these macro families through surrogates and a higher probability of exploitation is problematic.

[Anonymous]

This is so incredibly disturbing and needs to be more highly publicized. For people not reading the article. A 66 year old wealthy Chinese man and his assistant /partner (no one is quite sure what their relationship truly is) who moved to the United States around 2018 or 2019 start their own fertility company and buy eggs from egg donors who were younger, non-Asian, and more educated. They use his sperm and surrogates to have over 20 kids in about 3-4 years. None of the surrogates realize until later what is occurring. The kids are raised by nannies in an environment like an orphanage.

There are multiple reports of neglect and abuse but nothing is done until one of the babies is brought to the hospital with a severe head injury on a Wednesday. A nanny is caught on tape hitting the baby in the head on a Sunday (the nanny fled once police became involved and has not been caught). The parents are caught on camera reviewing surveillance tape with the nanny (there are multiple cameras all over the house) and see she has bashed the kid in the head Sunday evening but don't do anything until Wed.

If you adopt a child there is a mandatory home study but essentially with surrogacy the same thing is happening yet there is no home study needed. How can there be no law that prohibits essentially BUYING over 20 children in 4 years with no oversight. Laws absolutely need to be passed to stop this from happening. There were so many reports of neglect and abuse and nothing was done until a child was bashed in the head. Even then the social worker reported all was fine in the house with happy children:

Social workers from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (D.C.F.S.) who were also there, he added, had agreed. A summary of their notes described the children [all with shaved heads] as “happy, giggly and engaging well with other kids.” Based on this “visual inspection,” D.C.F.S. decided that “it is evident there is no neglect and abuse at this time.”

The only reason they were caught was there was video footage of the abuse:

The children were taken into custody, where the contrast between what the social worker had sunnily determined on Wednesday (“There is no neglect”) and what doctors and caregivers observed was startling. As the children arrived at their foster homes, some of them in pairs, many had scratches, red marks, scars, and old bruises on various parts of their bodies. One was pale and dehydrated, another “dirty and unkempt.” A toddler who was hospitalized with pneumonia was missing the nails on his right thumb and left pinkie.

During medical exams that night, and at doctors’ appointments in the following weeks, the children were diagnosed with a vast array of illnesses, conditions, and developmental delays that, in some cases, might have been prevented with timely attention. Among the twenty children in custody, one had untreated asthma, one had a severe rash from an untreated yeast infection, two had untreated ear infections, and one had a misshapen head that could no longer be corrected. A few of the siblings had difficulty walking and climbing stairs, but did not appear to have received physical therapy. Another had a rare genetic disorder that could cause heart failure, but that hadn’t been properly followed up on.

Several caregivers told the social workers that the children behaved as though they’d been deprived of food. Some stuffed themselves long after they were full, “as if something bad would occur if they didn’t.” A set of twins engaged in “food hoarding,” storing bites of meals in their cheeks. One caregiver observed that a nine-month-old seemed to have been on a liquid diet.

And now the kids are in foster care as the parents fight to get the kids back. A couple more surrogates have given birth so there are two more babies, and tragically another surrogate is pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing this, OP. No idea what can be done as it all seems legal. Compared to other developed countries, surrogacy in the US seems like the Wild West. Now that pro-natalism has caught on with certain wealthy psychos, this needs to be addressed. It will probably keep happening in countries where bribery, corruption and financial need dictate terms. But the fact this is happening in the United States should be of serious concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve followed this since the story broke.

The obvious conclusion is surrogate babies were being raised to later be dissected for their organs in China.

No. Read the New Yorker article. They weren’t in it to make money—they spent a ton on the surrogates and there’s no effort to sell then. The most plausible theory imo is the one voiced by the employees: The bio dad has a grandiose desire to be related to a US president, and so he’s trying to maximize his chances by having as many kids as possible.

I read the article. I do not believe the father’s excuse.

First of all, as someone pointed out: it is insane.

Second: it is also completely implausible / against the odds. Whatever you think of this scheming couple, they amassed all that money and organized this complicated scheme; a truly stupid person could not have done what he did. He is not stupid. He knows the odds were astronomically against him, and is at least smart enough for this explanation to NOT be the real reason.

Third: if his real reason was harvesting body parts for China’s massive transplant black-market, do you really think he would tell the reporter that?!?

Finally: if his goal were to raise a future president, he would have invested in raising kids with qualities to achieve that goal. These kids were treated like cattle.

Abused cattle can still be lead to slaughter (for their organs). These abused kids were being raised for anything other than a future position as POTUS.

[Anonymous]

Muslim-minority Uyghurs, Tibetan independence activists, and followers of Falun Gong are all imprisoned in China, then their organs are surgically removed (without anesthesia).

This ongoing practice by China is not in dispute; it has been happening for decades:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Gong_practitioners_in_China

The organs are sold on a thriving international black-market to ultra-rich buyers, who are desperate to not die.

The real motive behind the surrogacy story is obvious, if you think about it for a moment.

[Anonymous]

They were discussed here:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1283400.page