A woman who agreed to be a surrogate mother for a same-sex couple has won custody of the child, after the judge ruled their dealings with the mother were "manipulative and dishonest".
The woman, known as 'Jennifer Gibson', met the same-sex couple in Burger King in February 2014, and agreed to be a surrogate mother after a meeting that lasted only 30 minutes. She had been 'matched' to the couple by a fixer who runs a Facebook group for couples looking for surrogates.
Ms Justice Russell has concluded it would be in the child's best interests to remain with Ms Gibson.
Doubts
The baby was conceived through an anonymous egg donor from the USA, and the sperm of one of the same-sex couple. Two embryos were implanted at a clinic in Cyprus – Ms Gibson miscarried the first.
The couple agreed to pay her £9000: although profiting from surrogacy is illegal, up to £15,000 can be reimbursed for 'expenses'.
Ms Gibson began to have doubts after receiving a Facebook message from a woman who had previously been a surrogate for the couple, delivering twins. She said she had not been paid fairly and was left with medical complications.
'I gave birth to him'
Originally deciding to abort the baby, Ms Gibson changed her mind and gave birth to a boy last summer. He has remained with the mother with her partner and their six-year-old son.
The boy had an "undiagnosed illness affecting his brain", the judge said.
Under British law, Ms Gibson is regarded as the child's mother unless she agrees to a parental order appointing the couple as his legal parents.
She said: "He is my little boy. I gave birth to him. I felt him kick for the first time. I'm the one now breastfeeding him. He's happy and so loved. I'm absolutely terrified I'm going to lose him."
Difficulties of unregulated surrogacy
Ms Justice Russell ruled last Thursday that the boy would be permitted to have contact with his biological father and his same-sex partner, but remain with his surrogate mother.
"She is better placed to meet his emotional needs. She is, quite apparently, more emotionally available and has a greater instinctive understanding of his emotional needs," she said.
However, she said that the case was "yet another example" of the difficulties created by unregulated surrogacy arrangements.
She said that the woman was of "limited income" and lived with a man who did manual work. The two men were professionals and in a "much more secure" social and economic position.
"This unregulated form of surrogacy means that there are, on the one side, vulnerable surrogates and on the other commissioning parents who are legally unprotected from unpredictable outcomes."
To read more about surrogacy and its ethical considerations, Christian Medical Fellowship offer this helpful resource.
Related Links:
Christian Medical Fellowship resource on surrogacy (CMF)
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