Two same-sex couples in the UK face losing their frozen embryos after sperm donors withdrew consent, as UK law allows donors to withdraw consent before embryo transfer, leading to embryos being discarded after a cooling-off period if consent is not restored. New Zealand has partially addressed this issue by limiting donor consent withdrawal to before embryo creation under certain guidelines, but gaps remain in the law regarding embryo storage, consent, and disposal, prompting calls for reforms to protect embryos and prioritize children's rights in assisted reproduction and surrogacy legislation.
Utah Rep. Mike Kennedy expressed that decisions about IVF, surrogacy, and vaccine schedules should be made by states rather than the federal government, emphasizing a reduction in federal oversight.
Grindr CEO George Arison is lobbying to expand access to IVF and surrogacy by advocating for fertility service costs to be fully tax-deductible, surrogacy coverage through insurance, and an infertility definition inclusive of homosexual couples. Grindr has supported these practices for years, including covering IVF and surrogacy costs in its employee benefits package since 2024, highlighting their importance to homosexuals seeking children.
Surrogates in the U.S. are paid between $45,000 and $75,000 to carry and birth children for others, which is close to the median individual income, but this compensation rarely ensures protection for the baby, surrogate, or transparency about complications.
Taiwan officials arrested a Chinese national and two Taiwanese individuals for operating an illegal surrogacy ring that sold 25 children to 22 men, all of whom were either single or involved in same-sex partnerships, using Thai surrogates who traveled from Malaysia to Taiwan to give birth. The surrogacy network allowed clients to pay extra to choose the sex of their baby, resulting in 84% of the newborns being boys, and the ring leaders have been charged with violating Taiwan's Assisted Reproductive Technology Act, which outlaws surrogacy.
The Alabama Supreme Court's 2024 IVF decision extended personhood to human embryos for the purpose of a 'Wrongful Death of a Minor' lawsuit, bringing IVF, surrogacy, and infertility issues to the forefront of national discussion. As political parties positioned themselves as 'pro-parent, pro-IVF,' many evangelicals began to reconsider their views on these topics, questioning the assumption that IVF is inherently pro-life because it creates life.
U.S. Army veteran Haotian Bai runs Patriot Conceptions, a surrogacy agency that facilitates wealthy Chinese couples having American-born babies, which has raised national security concerns due to the potential for these children to later access sensitive U.S.
Pope Leo XIV delivered a speech at the Elysée Palace in France, warning President Emmanuel Macron and French parliament to uphold the sanctity of life by denouncing surrogacy and assisted suicide. He emphasized that mutual respect and protection of every human life is a duty incumbent upon all, following a private meeting with Macron and in the presence of politicians, diplomats, civil authorities, and firemen who responded to the 2019 Notre-Dame fire.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Paris on September 25, 2026, and urged French leaders at the Élysée Palace to protect every human life, condemning assisted dying, abortion, and surrogacy while emphasizing the importance of welcoming life unconditionally and supporting the vulnerable. During his four-day apostolic journey to France, the pope also highlighted the Catholic Church's historical role in caring for the poor and underprivileged, and planned visits including a Mass in Paris, a prayer vigil at Stade de France, and a trip to the Marian shrine of Lourdes.
Haotian Bai, a U.S. Army veteran and founder of the California-based surrogacy company Patriot Conceptions, is under investigation by the Hoover Institution for allegedly misleading them about his business activities involving wealthy Chinese nationals.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Paris on September 25, 2026, and urged French leaders at the Élysée Palace to protect every human life, condemning assisted dying, abortion, and surrogacy while emphasizing the importance of welcoming life unconditionally and supporting the vulnerable. During his four-day apostolic journey, the pope also highlighted France's deep Christian roots, addressed secularization challenges, and planned visits including a Mass with nearly 600,000 attendees and a prayer vigil for young people at Stade de France.
Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency appeal from McKenna West, a surrogate who fled to Texas to give birth to a baby with a life-threatening heart defect after the biological parents requested an abortion. The California court recognized the biological parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, as the legal parents responsible for the child's medical care, a decision upheld by multiple courts including Texas and the U.S.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of an infant boy born in Texas after his surrogate mother, McKenna West, refused to terminate the pregnancy despite the biological parents' request due to the child's life-threatening condition.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the custody battle between McKenna West, a surrogate mother from Alaska, and California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, who had a surrogacy contract requiring abortion if fetal abnormalities were detected.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of Alaska surrogate McKenna West, who refused to abort the baby she was carrying after he was diagnosed with a serious heart defect and sought a say in his care, leaving a California ruling recognizing the intended parents as the legal parents intact.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of surrogate mother McKenna West, who refused to have an abortion and sought custody of the child diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied surrogate McKenna West's emergency appeal to overturn a California court ruling that she has no legal or physical claim to the medically fragile baby boy she carried, who was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Despite West's efforts to secure custody and ensure the baby received life-saving care in Texas, the baby's genetic parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, retain legal rights and are currently suing West for damages, while courts have ordered that the baby must receive stabilizing and life-sustaining care.
The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving a California couple and their surrogate, McKenna West, who refused to terminate a pregnancy despite a severe fetal heart defect diagnosis. The California court recognized Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the legal parents of the baby, who was born in Texas and underwent surgery, with the Supreme Court's decision leaving the parentage ruling intact amid ongoing medical care concerns.
The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving California parents and a surrogate who refused their request for an abortion after the unborn child was diagnosed with a serious heart defect. The surrogate, McKenna West, delivered the child in Texas and sought conservatorship, while the biological parents sued for breach of the surrogacy agreement and were previously ruled legal parents by a California court.
The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving California parents and a surrogate who refused their request for an abortion after the unborn child was diagnosed with a serious heart defect. The surrogate, McKenna West, sought conservatorship of the child after delivering him in Texas, while the biological parents sued for breach of the surrogacy agreement and were previously ruled legal parents by a California trial court.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan declined an emergency request from surrogate McKenna West to intervene in a custody dispute involving biological parents who had told her to get an abortion. West sought to overturn a parentage judgment issued in California in favor of the couple, but the case was not taken up by the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving a baby born via surrogate after the surrogate refused to terminate the pregnancy despite a diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The lower court's order granting custody to the biological parents, who are caring for the baby in Texas following open-heart surgery, was upheld without explanation from Kagan.
Haotian Bai, a U.S. Army veteran, runs Patriot Conceptions, a California surrogacy agency that connects wealthy Chinese nationals with American surrogates, enabling children born through surrogacy to obtain U.S.
Haotian Bai, a U.S. Army veteran affiliated with the Hoover Institution think tank, runs Patriot Conceptions, a California surrogacy agency that serves Chinese clients, including billionaire Xu Bo.
From April 2027, women and their partners in the UK who experience a pregnancy ending before 24 weeks, including through abortion, failed IVF, or other pregnancy losses, will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid statutory bereavement leave. The policy has drawn criticism for equating abortion with miscarriage, raising concerns about the recognition of unborn life and potential misuse of the leave entitlement, while also extending to commissioning parents in surrogacy arrangements.
A Texas District Court vacated an emergency order that had kept Baby Gabriel/Rumi, born via surrogate McKenna West, in Texas to receive care for hypoplastic left heart syndrome, allowing his genetic parents to move him to California if approved by doctors. The court found that the genetic parents have consented to all recommended medical treatments and that some restrictions of the emergency order were no longer medically necessary, while maintaining that stabilizing and life-sustaining care must continue and that the Guardian Ad Litem remains appointed for the child.
Approximately 6,000 pro-life demonstrators participated in Germany's annual March for Life held simultaneously in Berlin and Cologne, with the Cologne rally experiencing attacks from counterdemonstrators who threw paint and set off smoke bombs at a pro-life information stand. Several bishops joined the Berlin march, which drew around 4,200 people according to organizers, and speakers at both events addressed issues such as surrogacy and the right to life from conception to natural death.
Chinese billionaire Xu Bo fathered up to 100 children through IVF and surrogacy in the U.S., aiming to create a 'mega-family' linked to Elon Musk's children, a scheme revealed during a court case denying his parental rights to unborn children. The article critiques the push for IVF as a human right, highlighting ethical concerns about embryo status and the Catholic Church's stance that IVF is unethical because it treats embryos as commodities rather than human persons deserving dignity from conception.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that Baby Gabriel, born via surrogacy with a severe heart defect, can be taken from Texas to California by his biological parents for further treatment. Surrogate McKenna West sought sole conservatorship to control medical decisions and prevent the transfer, but the court prioritized the child's medical care and allowed the parents to proceed with the ICU-to-ICU transfer for additional surgeries.
Kallie Fell, Executive Director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, discusses the ethical, social, and human costs of the domestic surrogacy industry, highlighting its exploitation of women and commodification of children. The presentation calls for a reevaluation of policies and cultural attitudes that normalize surrogacy as a commercial transaction, challenging its portrayal as an act of compassion or empowerment.
