Following up on a BioEdge story from two weeks ago, a surrogate mother who kept her baby after a six-months-long court case has revealed why she refused to hand over the child.
Following up on a BioEdge story from two
weeks ago,
a surrogate mother who kept her baby after a six-months-long court case
has revealed why she refused to hand over the child. The surrogate – a
young inner-city single mother raising two children of her own on
benefits – had agreed to help a wealthy married couple who had contacted
her by email. She believed they were the “perfect couple” to raise a
child and was paid £4,500 in expenses. However, as she told the Daily
Mail, the surrogate (known as Miss N) changed her mind after the wife,
Mrs W, confessed that her husband was controlling and violent and had
once tried to strangle her with a car seatbelt.

Miss N claimed the
woman had tried previously to use a prostitute as surrogate and had told
her she would abort any child with Down’s syndrome, describing children
with the condition as “animals”. Miss N said Mrs W had “snapped” during
a row with an older teenage child, and that she had seen the woman bang
the teenager’s head against an oven.

A senior Family Court judge ruled that
Miss N should be allowed to keep her daughter, despite her earlier
agreement. The case could have far-reaching consequences for other
couples considering hired surrogates. it’s another reminder, in the
words of the judge, that the risks of surrogacy are “very considerable”.
~ Daily Mail, Feb
15

Jared Yee
surrogacy

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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