KQED's Forum Ethical Questions Arise from CA’s Commercial Surrogacy Industry
Feb 26, 2026
Deborah Wald, a San Francisco family law specialist in assisted reproduction. Ava Kofman, a New Yorker reporter who investigated a large Los Angeles surrogacy case. They discuss a sprawling commercial surrogacy operation, surveillance and welfare checks that uncovered alleged neglect, California’s legal protections for surrogates, calls for better transparency and agency regulation, and debates about limits and equity in the industry.
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Surrogate Found Out Midpregnancy About Multiple Concurrent Journeys
- Kayla Elliott, a first-time surrogate from Texas, learned mid-pregnancy that the intended LA parents already had many other surrogate-born children.
- She discovered via Facebook and fertility attorneys that the couple hid they were managing over a dozen concurrent surrogacies, leaving her unsettled after birth.
Hospitalization Sparked Raid Revealing Disturbing Surveillance Footage
- Police welfare check triggered after baby Walter hospitalized with brain bleeding led officers to a wealthy Arcadia home with many shaved-headed toddlers.
- Surveillance footage from the parents' cameras showed alleged beatings and head strikes, prompting removal of children into foster care.
Lack Of Federal Rules Enables Large Scale Surrogacy
- The U.S. has no federal surrogacy regulations, so nothing legally stops wealthy people from having many children through surrogacy.
- Ava notes other reported cases with people fathering dozens or even 100 children, showing scale depends on capital and weak oversight.