A Surrogacy Gone Wrong Is a Warning About Industry

Surrogacy is a $5 billion annual industry in the US, but a story by Emi Nietfeld at Wired illustrates that it's also surprisingly unregulated. Nietfeld relates the tale of a surrogacy that ended with the baby's death in utero—and the nasty legal fight that has ensued. The central players are venture capitalist Cindy Bi, and Rebecca Smith, the surrogate she hired to carry her embryo through the matching agency Surrogates Alternatives. (Smith's name is a pseudonym to protect her privacy.) Bi accuses Smith of breaching their contract, of failing to disclose key details about her symptoms and insurance, even of negligence. Smith counters that she followed medical advice and reported symptoms as instructed, arguing that the death from placental abruption could not have been prevented.

The law offers little clarity, with the story explaining that in most states, surrogacy is a patchwork of contracts and agencies, with little oversight when things go wrong. In this case, Bi sued, and the resulting legal fight is only getting worse. Smith even filed for a restraining order last year, as Bi took her case to social media to air her grievances. "It appears nothing—not even the specter of being found in contempt of court—will stop Bi from sharing her truth," writes Nietfeld. "Though it's highly unlikely, Bi could even go to jail: There's an arrest warrant out for Bi in Virginia for doxing Smith. In one legal document, Smith countered that "the only goal she had was to destroy my life." Read the full story, which suggests such confrontations are more common than you might think, given that they typically play out in private.