BEIJING - Two female national lawmakers called for legislation against surrogacy on Wednesday, arguing possible ethical and legal chaos.
Wu Donglan, deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) from central China's Hunan province, said at the ongoing national parliamentary session that surrogacy would break traditional parenthood standards and cause ethical problems, although it could also bring hope to couples facing fertility problems.
She made the proposal in the wake of news in south China's Guangdong province that a woman, together with two hired surrogates, gave birth to a total of four boys and four girls.
"The child becomes a commodity and the body of a woman becomes a tool for production, which are against traditions, customs and ethics," she said.
It will also cause legal disputes concerning fostering, parental support and inheritance, she said.
Qin Xiyan, another NPC deputy also from Hunan, supported Wu's argument.
"Currently, no laws have clearly regulated surrogacy, nor does the criminal code include penalties for offenders," said Qin, who is also a lawyer.
Only a regulation issued by the Ministry of Health has regulated that medical institutions will be warned and fined for illegally conducting surrogacy operations, which is hardly an effective punishment for offenders, she said.
Although not totally against surrogacy, Qin argued that laws should at least ban illegal surrogacies, and those seriously at odds with the law should be prosecuted.
Both women also suggested that legislation should be enacted to ban profit-seeking surrogacy brokerage agencies and clarify which government department should supervise this issue and how.
