Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishBritons looking for a child are turning to Mexico for cut-price surrogate babies – with one UK agency accused of cashing in by setting up a branch in the country.Campaigners who claim poverty-stricken Mexican women are being exploited want the UK Government to ban the trade after My Surrogacy Journey became the first British agency to establish an overseas office directly to arrange surrogates.Surrogate mothers in Mexico are paid £12,000 a time – a fraction of the cost in the US, where a deal can cost as much as £250,000.One of the key reasons behind Mexico’s increasingly popularity is that it allows pre-birth agreements that see surrogates sign away their rights to a child – meaning it is easier to bring a baby back to the UK, where commercial surrogacy deals are illegal.It has become a go-to destination after nations such as India and Thailand cracked down on the practice and the war in Ukraine halted the lucrative trade there.Surrogacy Concern founder Helen Gibson said: ‘We believe My Surrogacy Journey’s treatment of Mexican women is profoundly unethical.‘It also goes against what British surrogacy agencies are supposed to be: not-for-profit.‘Watching a British surrogacy agency set up a commercial outpost in a developing country is appalling – the Government should shut down this pipeline between Mexico and London. My Surrogacy Journey was founded in 2021 by Michael and Wes Johnson-Ellis (pictured), who have two children born through surrogacy and a third surrogate ‘journey’ under way in Mexico. A My Surrogacy Journey advertising offering Mexican women money to carry a baby to term for an overseas couple Campaigners who claim poverty-stricken Mexican women are being exploited want the UK Government to ban the trade after My Surrogacy Journey, founded by Michael and Wes Johnson-Ellis (pictured), became the first British agency to establish an overseas office directly to arrange surrogates THE MEN BEHIND THE MSJ FIRM My Surrogacy Journey was founded in 2021 by Michael and Wes Johnson-Ellis, who have two children born through surrogacy and a third surrogate ‘journey’ under way in Mexico.Alongside their children, the couple have featured in an Audi ad campaign on ‘#futurefamilies’ and a campaign on ‘modern’ families by baby-milk firm Cow & Gate entitled ‘Love Don’t Judge’. They also starred in a Channel 4 documentary called Gay Dads Forever. ‘Mexican women on average earn less than £300 equivalent per month. How is offering low-income women money to become surrogate mothers for wealthy western couples and single men safe or ethical?’Advertisements show MSJ offers Mexican women 310,000 pesos – about £12,000 – to be surrogate mothers, with additional payments of £1,450 if they have a caesarean and £590 for embryo transfer.MSJ also offers ‘perks’ including ‘a weekend getaway worth $10,000’, theme park tickets, yoga classes and massages, as well as transport to appointments in Mercedes cars.In one advert in Spanish – featuring images of Big Ben, red London buses and Union Flags – MSJ tells potential Mexican surrogates that no other agency has as many would-be parents waiting in the UK.Commercial surrogacy arrangements are illegal in the UK but it is legal for couples to seek international surrogates before bringing a baby back. There is no suggestion that MSJ has done anything illegal.The company is open about choosing Mexico due to the ‘unique situation’ in the country, with intended parents named on the birth certificate rather than the woman who has given birth.Mexico also allows ‘pre-birth orders’ – which a surrogate signs before a baby is born that declares she is not the legal parent. MSJ says this offers aspiring parents ‘complete guarantee that their parentage is fully settled’.In the UK, where only ‘altruistic’ surrogacy is allowed, a surrogate mother is registered as the legal parent of the child and intended parents have to apply for a parental order to reassign parenthood through the courts. One British couple had a baby born this year through a surrogacy arrangement with MSJ Mexico.The woman, who asked not to be named, has documented the process online, including in one video during a ‘gorgeous sunny day in Mexico’, in which she says: ‘We met in a really nice little coffee shop and we actually met our potential surrogate, Aurora, and it was such a special moment for both of us.’Earlier this month, she said she had to make a ‘mad dash to Mexico’ as the baby had been born six weeks early, adding: ‘So early, in fact, that he was born while we were still in the air.’Commercial surrogacy is illegal in most countries and Italy recently banned couples from travelling abroad to find surrogate mothers, with prime minister Giorgia Meloni describing the practice as ‘a symbol of an abominable society that confuses desire with rights and replaces God with money’. It is legal in other places, such the US state of California, where those looking for a surrogate can expect to spend more than £250,000.In other countries – including Mexico – it is either unregulated or lightly regulated.An MSJ spokesman said its adverts are ‘not inducements, but rather fair compensation’ for surrogates, adding: ‘This is not payment for a baby, but rather an ethical recognition of the physical and emotional undertaking.’The company said it was committed to ethical surrogacy and legal safeguards in Mexico and did not work with surrogates ‘who are financially dependent on surrogacy’. It added that its Mexico operation was ‘legally separate from our UK entity’ as ‘while MSJ operates as a not-for-profit in the UK, this legal model is not universally applicable across all jurisdictions’.Co-chief executive Michael Johnson-Ellis said: ‘The assumption that we should mirror our UK not-for-profit model internationally, without consideration for local laws, reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how ethical surrogacy should be structured on a global scale.’
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