Political fight over birthright citizenship enters surrogacy custody case
Kyla Simpson, then 25, was recruited in late 2023 by Angels Creation Reproductive Center, a Southern California agency that matches Chinese parents with U.S. surrogates, according to the Wall Street Journal. The agency matched her with Chen Zhou, a single man living in Suzhou, China, who offered extra money for her to carry twins. Simpson, working as a bank teller and home health aide, earned under $20 an hour at each job and said she became a surrogate partly to fund a home for her husband and daughter.
Simpson’s contract paid $50,000 for one embryo and $10,000 for each additional embryo carried to term. One of the embryos split unexpectedly, and she became pregnant with triplets. She gave birth prematurely via C-section in November 2024. Zhou told her he wanted to attend but said he had encountered setbacks trying to leave China, the Journal reported, citing court documents and interviews.
Zhou, an international-school tutor and translator, borrowed from his parents and took out bank loans to cover the costs of the surrogacy, which ultimately exceeded $300,000, according to court records reviewed by the Journal. Surrogacy is illegal in China, and single men cannot adopt there. Zhou used donor eggs and had his sperm transported to HRC Fertility in Pasadena, Calif., one of the largest IVF practices in the U.S., owned by a publicly traded Chinese firm.
Simpson agreed to care for the babies after birth while Zhou sought a U.S. visa. Zhou sent sporadic payments totaling close to $10,000 and reimbursement for breast milk, according to court records. He pleaded with her to keep caring for them. “I promise you I will take my babies to visit you often so we will be life long friends,” Zhou wrote in emails Simpson filed in court, according to the Journal.
In August 2025, one of the triplets died at nine months old after he stopped breathing in a playpen. The medical examiner cited complications related to a respiratory virus and ruled the death noncriminal. Florida’s Department of Children and Families opened an investigation, classifying the Simpsons as a high-risk household. A department spokeswoman said the classification does not mean the agency “verified findings of abuse or neglect.” Simpson’s attorney said the investigation was closed without findings.
After the death, Zhou’s efforts to retrieve the children stalled. His visa application was rejected by the U.S. consulate in April 2025. He turned to a fixer, Jiapeng “Kent” Wan, who claimed he could bring the children to China, according to a summary of WeChat messages filed by Zhou’s attorneys. Zhou paid Wan $30,000, but the fixer’s claims grew increasingly outlandish, the Journal reported, including an allegation that Simpson had fabricated the death for financial gain. Zhou’s attorneys later alleged that photos Wan sent of the children were manipulated with AI.
Simpson filed to adopt the twins in May 2026, saying Zhou had stopped communicating. Zhou then retained an attorney and entered the custody battle.
Florida’s political climate added a new dimension. On May 11, 2026, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law banning citizens of China and other “foreign nations of concern” from hiring Florida surrogates. The law took effect after Simpson and Zhou’s contract and does not apply retroactively. But Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier intervened in Simpson’s case, arguing in filings that the surrogacy agreement was invalid and that Zhou had not proved parentage under Florida law.
In June, Circuit Court Judge Rose Marie Karadsheh Preddy ordered Simpson to place the twins with Zhou’s attorneys. “This is a complicated thing that brought three children into the world and I—I don’t know,” she said at a hearing, according to the Journal. “There is no legal authority as of right now that I can hang my hat on that can give you the kids,” she told Simpson.
Zhou’s attorneys removed the children to a Los Angeles suburb, where they are cared for by nannies. Simpson has not seen them since the handover. In an interview with the Journal, she said, “I love my babies. It’s very traumatic and very barbaric how things have played out.”
Zhou told the Journal in an email, “If you know the truth you will find Kyla has her plan to keep my boys from the very beginning. It is planned and premeditated with her intention.” Simpson’s attorneys said the claim is false and pointed to documents showing Zhou asked her to care for the children and paid her to do so for months.
The children turn two in November. Judge Preddy is scheduled to hear arguments on whether the boys must return to Florida while the case proceeds. Zhou has never met them.