Surrogacy trafficking scheme uncovered in Ukraine

Police in Ukraine have uncovered an illegal surrogacy scheme, in which newborns are being trafficked over the border.

Key Takeaways:

• Ukraine has been a thriving destination for surrogacy, though the war with Russia has had a negative effect on business.

• Police have uncovered a trafficking scheme in which newborns are smuggled across the border, claiming to be born to surrogate mothers.

• Other countries have warned citizens against Ukraine's surrogacy industry.

The Details:

Mezha, a Ukrainian news outlet, reported that police arrested a 39-year-old woman for posing as a surrogate and trafficking a newborn baby across the country's borders. Upon investigation, police discovered that two clinic owners were hiring low-income women to serve as surrogates, with no genetic relationship to the child. Yet the surrogates were named on the birth certificates as the children's biological mothers, allowing the babies to be trafficked over the border.

The woman who was arrested was paid  14 thousand euros, and so far, law enforcement has not been able to locate the baby to ensure that the little girl is healthy and safe.

The woman is charged with violating Part 2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, illegal crossing of persons across the state border, and investigations are ongoing to see how widespread the trafficking is.

READ: Surrogacy is riskier for both women and babies than most people realize

However, there is reason to believe the connection between surrogacy and trafficking in Ukraine is substantial; at least one other country, Israel, is warning its citizens against pursuing surrogacy in Ukraine.

In January, the Israeli Justice Ministry alleged that there were numerous issues, including the mistreatment of women hired to be surrogates.

The report from the Justice Ministry claimed surrogates are typically vulnerable women being exploited into surrogacy, and experiencing severe violence. Additionally, surrogate mothers are allegedly forced into "draconian" contracts, isolated, forced into undergoing medical procedures against their consent, and have their freedom of movement restricted. The ministry also said foreigners are being trafficked into Ukraine solely to serve as surrogates:

These women do not speak the language, have no legal status in the country, come from different cultural backgrounds, and often have no familial or social support. They leave behind partners and young children for long periods and endure significant physical and emotional stress during pregnancy. This severely increases their vulnerability to exploitation and coercion.

The sources for these claims are "a 2023 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Ukrainian government officials, and legal professionals in Israel."

BioTexCom, a fertility clinic in Kyiv, has remained extremely influential even amid the war with Russia. Despite accusations of human trafficking, it is one of the largest surrogacy businesses in the world, and is believed to control one-fourth of the global surrogacy market.

Zoom In:

While surrogacy still continues in Ukraine, it has somewhat slowed due to the war with Russia. But as with other surrogacy arrangements around the world, the buyers are typically wealthy, and often foreign, while the women serving as surrogates are living in poverty. This is especially true in Ukraine, which is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Ukrainian politicians have attempted to ban foreign surrogacy, and yet, it has not yet been outlawed, allowing abuses to continue. Ukraine is often a sought-after fertility destination because it is significantly less expensive than in countries like the United States.

The Bottom Line:

Surrogacy is inherently exploitative, both of women and of the babies born from it. Rather than human beings, both women and children are treated as products to be bought and sold by the highest bidder.