Mexico - The Baby Business
Surrogacy entrepreneur Rudy Rupak considers himself something of a Hollywood-style dream-maker. Yet as clients of his unscrupulous Cancun-based clinic had the misfortune to find out, he deals only in nightmares.
"I'm the uncle to about 750 kids around the globe, and it's a great feeling", boasts the saccharine CEO of commercial baby-making firm 'Planet Hospital'. "To grow a company that brings joy to people's lives is about as close to being Walt Disney as I'll ever get." However, presiding over a money-grabbing operation that exploits the last and most desperate hopes of intended parents otherwise unable to conceive, Rupak's character is more in the mold of a one-dimensional Disney villain. "Planet Hospital was run like a Ponzi scheme", claims Catherine Moscarello, a client and former employee of Planet Hospital. "They price the services based on how desperate they figure the parents are." International commercial surrogacy is booming in places where regulatory frameworks are rickety and consumer protections next to non-existent. Mexico's legal loopholes make it a perfect hunting-ground for predatory operators like Rupak, who charge tens of thousands of dollars for the promise of a healthy baby. "He is loveable and sweet and pretends to be human. He's not - he's evil." This report tracks Rupak down to his upmarket LA home and asks the questions his destitute customers want to hear.
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