The Journey, Episode 3: The Industry
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How did Olympia become a surrogate for Sylvia and carry twins?
Hi, it's Madeline. Before we start this episode, I want to remind you that New Yorker subscribers can listen to all five episodes of the journey right now, ad free, no waiting, in the New Yorker app. It's just one dollar a week to subscribe. You can do that by visiting New Yorker.com slash dark. That's NewYorker.com slash dark. Previously on the journey.
He was chasing her. Yeah, and that's the one time that we called the cops because she was screaming. And then he pulled out a gun and I mean it was kind of like a standoff. The sheriffs came. Our clients are actually very feisty, so they he actually got into physical fights with those workers.
It seems that Gordon was using money to control Sylvia.
That company was very much going by the time we got there. But like hidden. In the house. Very much hidden house.
What are the thoughts going through your head in terms of what's gonna happen to to baby girl? This is a lot.
The was a whole lot. I I wanted to be safe. I wanted her to be safe. These were pictures like of Sylvia in the same exact outfit, the same leather jacket, like the same outfit to the T.
I mean there you you just can't say like oh no that's not me. Like it is you, you know what I mean?
She's like, look at this. She's
all can you imagine? I go s I go, I what do you mean can I imagine? That's the lady we had the baby for.
When I die, like that's what I want to be remembered as like, oh you know, Olympia had a kid for somebody, she changed this couple's life. That's just always been my thing. Olympia Belmonte had wanted to change someone's life for a long time. But it wasn't until she was in her thirties, with three kids of her own, that she was able to act on this desire. I was like, I'm not getting any younger, and I was like, let's just do it. I was ready. I met up with Olympia in a park by her house. As her kids played nearby, she told me how she found a surrogacy agency, just outside LA County. and signed up to be a gestational carrier. The agency required her to share a lot of personal information. Photos, employment history, medical records from previous pregnancies.
But she wasn't told much about who she'd be caring for. She wasn't even sent a profile. All she knew was that the intended mother was also in her thirties, and didn't have any kids. As the date of the embryo transfer approached, Olympia got a last minute call from the agency. The IP was wondering if she was willing to carry twins. And I was like, huh. I don't I don't know. Like first of all, if she wanted twins, she should have said that from the beginning. That's how I feel. Like, don't ask me literally on a Friday afternoon,
um, when you know that my transfer is Monday.
This was a big ask. Твин прегненці анзирід. It was kinda like being cornered. If I corner her here. She's gonna say yes. The chances of me saying yes are a lot higher than me saying no. Olympia wanted so badly to make the intended mom happy.
And then I started thinking, Man, like poor thing, she probably doesn't have kids and she wants two already. She's probably trying to secure two kids because she doesn't want to have an only child. I all these things went
through my mind and I was like, All right, I'll do it. Лак, а ванта собой, а вони то make a difference in someone's life. This is even a bigger difference, like you I didn't just give you one, I gave you two. The трансфа сус. But as the twins kept growing, Olympia rarely heard from the intended mom. My family would ask me, Hey Mia,
so do you talk to her? Does she check in with you? And I was like, uh Occasionally, like you know, s here and there.
А just thirty one weeks, Olympia went into labor. She messaged the mother frantically. I said, We're waiting for you, Sylvia. Sylvia, as in Sylvia Jong. That was the supposedly childless woman who'd hired Olympia to carry twins.
I dunno, I was so stupid. I was like she probably wants to see them come out, you know, thinking like like a mother. I was like, she wants to be there.
So I told my husband, You can't go in with me.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Olympia become a surrogate for Sylvia and carry twins?
0:00–7:17
2
How did Sylvia and Guo Jun use Baby Tree to hire multiple surrogates?
7:17–14:29
3
What warning signs did Baby Tree employees notice about Sylvia’s surrogacy plans?
14:29–20:16
4
Why is surrogacy so lightly regulated in the United States?
20:16–26:09
5
Can voluntary surrogacy industry standards protect surrogates and intended parents?
26:09–31:40
6
Could stricter surrogacy rules protect children without limiting who can become a parent?
31:40–38:37
7
Why did Baby Tree work with Sylvia and Guo Jun again after the twins’ NICU stay?
38:37–48:03
8
What happened to Elizabeth and the baby she carried for Sylvia and Guo Jun?
48:03–56:11