AS IT IS - Chinese Couples Having Babies by American Moms

You are listening to As It Is, from VOA Learning English. I'm June Simms in Washington.

Tony Jiang poses with his three children at his house in Shanghai.

More Chinese families are looking for surrogate mothers in the United States. A surrogate mother is a woman who agrees to become pregnant and carry a baby to full term for another woman who cannot have children. Surrogacy is illegal at most hospitals in China. But agencies are now connecting Chinese couples with Americans who will carry their children for a price.

Tony Jiang and his wife Cherry live in Shanghai. The couple has three children, all born in the United States to an American surrogate mother. Their daughter and twins were born in California.

"The elder girl is now three years old. The younger twins are now 13 months."

The couple had twice tried surrogacy services in China through military hospitals, which can legally perform the operation. But their efforts were unsuccessful. They then contacted a surrogacy agency in the United States. There, they connected with Amanda, a California woman who wishes to use only her first name. She gave birth to all three of the Jiangs' children.

"Cherry was actually in the room with me when Nicole was born so she got to actually witness the birth and see Nicole come into this world. And she was so ecstatic, and she was crying, and she was just so happy."

China changed its one child policy last year. It now permits couples to have two children if one of the parents is an only child. This has led to an increase in the number of families seeking to have children.

The Jiangs are among an increasing number of wealthy Chinese couples seeking to have babies by women in the United States. That decision comes with other values.

Under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, anyone born in the United States has a right to citizenship. U.S. citizens may also apply for green cards for their parents when they turn 21.

Tony Jiang started an agency in Shanghai that works with Chinese couples who want to have children. He says most couples, like him and his wife, seek surrogate mothers because they are medically unable to have children themselves. They choose the United States because of the high quality of its health care system.

"More and more patients are inquiring about services at clinics."

Surrogacy services can cost as much as $120,000. However, Chinese couples are increasingly willing to pay those high prices for the chance to have a child born in the United States.

And that is As It Is, from VOA Learning English. I'm June Simms.