Widow loses child custody battle
Print Edition
A woman in Minhang lost guardianship of her twins after her husband died because the couple illegally bought the female reproductive egg that created the children, according to the Minhang District People’s Court.
The woman, identified as Li Juan, suffered from infertility. After marrying Lin Xi, the couple bought an egg and, using Lin’s sperm, found a surrogate mother to bear their child. The whole process cost them 800,000 yuan (US$126,480).
In February 2012, fraternal twins were born. The couple allegedly tried to obtain birth certificates and resident certificates for the twins illegally.
Two years later, Lin died of acute pancreatitis. Months later, his parents filed a lawsuit against Li, seeking guardianship of the twins as the biological grandparents of the children.
Li argued that although she was not the biological mother of the twins, she had actually adopted them.
“I raised them since the day they were born,” Li told the court.
The court said DNA tests showed that Lin’s parents were blood relatives of the children, while Li was not.
Under Chinese law, trade in eggs and surrogate pregnancy is prohibited. Only children born through legal artificial insemination are recognized as children in wedlock. The court also found that Li had never undertaken any adoption procedure for the twins.
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