China Begins Campaign Against Illegal Reproductive Services

China has launched a six-month campaign to crack down on surrogacy, the illegal sale of sperm and eggs, and other illicit activities involving the use of human-assisted reproductive technology.

The campaign, which lasts from June through December, is the latest effort by Beijing to tighten oversight on the technology, as enormous unmet demand for assisted reproduction has spawned a dark industrial chain connecting egg sellers, underground surrogacy agencies and medical institutions that issue fraudulent birth certificates.