Wealthy Chinese nationals hiring American women as surrogates to bear children as U.S. citizens represent a growing national security threat, a Heritage Foundation researcher said.
“We have no idea who these children are,” Emma Waters, a Heritage research associate and visiting fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum, told Fox News. “So should they come back and get involved in research in academia or purchase contracts or even apply for jobs in sensitive areas, we don’t have clear tracking to show that these U.S. citizens actually had a far more complicated background and path to the United States.”
A growing number of Chinese citizens already past childbearing age are hiring American surrogates since the method of reproduction is illegal in China, according to Waters. While many of these Chinese individuals are well-intentioned in their pursuit of parenthood, the practice creates a long-term pathway for Beijing to further infiltrate U.S. industries undetected, she said.
CHINESE USING AMERICANS AS SURROGATES IS A ‘HUGE RED FLAG’:
“It’s time for Congress to act on this issue,” Waters told Fox News. “In order to really show the magnitude of this issue, we need to require data and reporting on these foreign contracts.”
Similar to how the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act requires record keeping on foreign investment in U.S. land, Waters suggested a law tracking foreign surrogacy contracts.
“These fertility clinics and these reproductive medicine groups have largely been left to self-regulate all of this time,” she said. “This is an opportunity to not only dig further into what’s going on, but also require states to share the information they do have.”
To watch the full interview with Waters, click here.
Teny Sahakian is an Associate Producer/Writer for Fox News. Follow Teny on Twitter at @tenysahakian.
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