The practice of surrogate child-bearing, the practice of paying a woman to carry an embryo to term, is, to put it mildly, controversial. On the one hand, it allows a pathway for a couple who, for one reason or another, cannot conceive to have a child who is biologically theirs. On the other hand, it is, according to some accounts, an emotional hand grenade for the surrogate mother, who feels the baby grow, feels it start to kick, goes through the birth process - and then has the baby whisked away. One could make that same emotional argument for a woman who, for whatever reason, has decided to surrender her baby for adoption, but those mothers didn't accept money to carry another's child. There may be a fine line there, but it's not invisible.

In the United States, California is the epicenter of the surrogacy industry, and there are a couple of reasons to be alarmed about that. A recent CBS News piece made some interesting revelations.

The X post reads:

A surrogate, believing she was carrying a child for a single father, is actually having a baby for a Chinese billionaire who allegedly has more than 100 kids. CBS News broke the news to her. 

Leaked documents obtained by CBS News named the intended father as Xu Bo, a Chinese billionaire and video game executive. Xu Bo has been reported to have over 100 children through U.S. surrogates, granting them American citizenship at birth. A former partner involved in a custody lawsuit against Xu Bo claims he has as many as 300 children. He has disputed these numbers, and has said in a statement that he has custody of 12 children born through surrogacy in the U.S. CBS News' @KatrinaSari interviewed the surrogate – who we are referring to as "Judy" to keep her identity private – who said she was blindsided to learn about Xu Bo. 

CBS News spoke to 32 surrogates for an investigation into the industry. Head to the linked article for more on this investigation.

Here's that article, and here's the first reason to be concerned: The Chinese connection. What CBS notes is accurate; regardless of the numbers, be it 12 children or 100, this Chinese billionaire's surrogate kids are all American citizens. All of them will one day be able to return to the United States, presumably after a basic education in China, after growing up in Chinese culture and with Chinese values. They will be eligible to vote. They will be eligible to run for elected office. They will be able to buy real estate, to join our armed forces, to attend our universities, and enjoy all of the privileges of citizenship, simply because a Chinese billionaire was able to pay for women in the United States to carry an infant to term.

Many foreign nationals travel to California when hiring surrogates. Dean Masserman, a partner at California law firm Vozimer & Masserman Fertility and Family Law Center said, "We have the most favorable laws and geographically, we are the largest state closest to mainland China or Taiwan."

All of the 32 surrogates interviewed by CBS News had their embryos transferred in California, even if they lived in another state.

And the second reason to be concerned? It seems many of the women persuaded into this practice are not even in the United States legally. This, of course, opens up a whole new kettle of fish. A surrogate in the country illegally has no recourse if she's persuaded into a contract; but that is what is happening, at least in some cases.

Recommended
Who Pays Gavin Newsom's Bills? Subpoenas Show Federal Investigators Want to Know, Too. Jennifer Van Laar Tucker Carlson All But Endorses Abdul El-Sayed, Says He's 'Obviously Right' on 9/11 Kyle Becker

Lured by an ad on Instagram promising a hefty payout, Andrea, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras living in California, decided to explore becoming a surrogate mother.

After some agencies expressed concerns about her immigration status, she found one that said yes. Before signing the agreement, she asked the firm, San Diego-based Creating Your Dreams Surrogacy, to set up a video introduction call with the young couple seeking to become parents. It was that call, Andrea said, that convinced her to make the complicated decision, as a single mother of two, to carry another couple's child.

And here we have another interesting angle indeed. The surrogate agency, in employing an illegal alien, is gaining a measure of leverage that they may not have over a citizen, as are the parents or parent who is paying the tab. And, regardless of the status of the surrogate, the child, born on American soil, will be an American citizen, thanks to our bizarre birthright citizenship laws. 

Andrea, the illegal alien woman mentioned above, had initially agreed to an on-screen interview with CBS News, but later backed out, claiming to be "too scared." Of what? Deportation? Or something else?