In a landmark case, British courts have granted a surrogate mother visitation rights to the baby boy she gave birth to for a gay couple. The unnamed woman fought for visitation after the two men who adopted the child told her she was not allowed see the baby because he lived in a “motherless family,” and they didn’t want to confuse him.
According to the Daily Mail, the woman, referred to as “G” in court proceedings, met the couple through her sister. Although they initially tried to conceive using a donated egg, the transfer failed, and they used G’s egg instead – making her the biological mother of the child.
After the boy was born, the woman signed a parental order granting the men full custody with a second order allowing her regular visits.
Despite agreeing to her terms, the men later reneged on their agreement, refusing to allow the woman into their home to see the boy on the day of a pre-scheduled visit. As a result, a verbal altercation erupted in front of the boy where the men threatened to call the police on her if she didn’t leave their property. G had secretly recorded the interaction.
While the recording was not used as evidence during the court proceedings but was described by the judge as “horrendous” for happening in front of their child.
Shortly after, the men took legal action to bar G from having access to the boy’s life.
During the proceedings, the men explained that there was “no vacancy” because the baby boy has “same-sex parents” and didn’t want him to feel like his family was incomplete for having two fathers.
The gay couple also accused G of being homophobic for claiming the child she carried for nine months recognized her as his mother and told her she was pursuing an “inappropriate relationship” with him.
Research shows that developing babies in the womb can hear, feel, and think before birth and have the emotional capabilities to sense their mothers’ love by 18 weeks.
Although the court initially considered imposing a step-parent adoption order that would ban the woman from seeing her child, Justice Lucy Theis eventually ruled that G has parental responsibility for the child and retains legal parentage.
As a result, the child will remain in custody with the gay couple under a “lives with order” but under a “spends time with order” the woman was granted visitation rights to her son.
“Whilst many surrogacy arrangements work very successfully, this case provides a graphic illustration of the difficulties that can be encountered if the arrangement breaks down. [The baby] is clearly thriving in [the gay couple’s] care. That is not an issue, and G has never suggested should not live with them, for [the baby] that security is there. [The baby] has seen G recently and has expressed the wish to see her again,” explained the judge, adding that all involved should take the necessary steps to repair their relationship as it is in the best interest of their child.
“I hope now that these decisions have been made, the parties will be able to focus on the important issue in this case, namely, to take steps to seek appropriate therapy and support with the aim of seeking to repair their relationships, as the one thing that unites all the adults is ensuring that Z’s welfare needs are met.”
“This is now the opportunity for each of them to demonstrate to Z that they can work together and each play their part to ensure that is achieved,” she concluded.
This landmark ruling was met with applause on X. While some called attention to the importance of mothers and their legal rights:
Others pointed to the hypocrisy of left-wing activists who support surrogacy despite accusing conservative politicians of fostering a society that parallels The Handmaid’s Tale.
The Handmaid’s Tale is a popular TV series based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel. The series is set in a fictionalized version of the United States, where environmental disasters have resulted in infertility and declining birth rates, forcing the remaining fertile women to act as surrogates for wealthy couples.
This landmark case comes on the heels of several controversies around gay men hiring surrogates.
As previously reported by The Publica, in July, a woman from Sacramento, California, came forward alleging that a gay couple who hired her as a surrogate pressured her to terminate the pregnancy in her second trimester after she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer.
Brittney Pearson, 37, was 25 weeks pregnant when the men threatened legal action if she did not abort the child, arguing that they did not want to care for it if it were born prematurely with health conditions.
Speaking with Daily Mail, she said that the fathers threatened to “sue anyone who attempted to save the pregnancy,” including any medical professionals.
“It was frustrating because I wanted to give them a family. They said they cared but they didn’t. I felt betrayed and heartbroken,” she explained, adding that her first thought after receiving her cancer diagnosis was that she wanted to protect the baby.
“I would have been there, I would have given him every chance of survival, I had people ready to help.”
Although she did not specify if her pregnancy was terminated or induced, Pearson gave birth to the baby on Father’s Day. The child was born alive but is confirmed to have since passed away.
