What happens when surrogacy goes wrong: The recent Indiana surrogacy case in wider context
A northern Indiana couple are the latest in a series of people to become embroiled in a legal battle in the US following the birth of a child conceived through surrogacy. They follow in the footsteps of a recent series of high profile and hard fought US legal parentage battles involving surrogate-born babies. As demand for surrogacy grows worldwide and its practice remains largely unregulated, surrogacy continues to raise difficult legal, ethical and emotional questions which are challenging legal systems and society to the limits.
Ms Kehoe and her husband, after a series of unsuccessful IVF attempts and an ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage, turned to surrogacy as a way of building their much wanted family. Using the internet, Ms Kehoe picked an egg donor, an anonymous sperm donor, a surrogate and a fertility clinic - and twins were conceived. Ethan and Bridget were delivered on 28 July 2009. A month later, the twins were removed by court order from Ms Kehoe's and her husband's care under police supervision.
The Kehoe's surrogate, Ms Baker, who herself has four children, had previously delivered and handed over three other surrogate born children to their intended parents. In the face of public vilification, Ms Baker and her husband took the difficult decision to assume care of the twins when it came to light that Ms Kehoe had not been psychologically screened.
Ms Baker was so concerned that Ms Kehoe may relapse and not be able to care for the twins that she took legal steps to recover them. Under state law in Michigan, surrogacy contracts are unenforceable and Ms Baker was deemed to be the twins' legal mother at birth and the court ordered their return to her. After much soul searching, Ms Kehoe and her husband decided not to pursue the matter further citing their concerns about the lack of speed in the court process, constraints of the Michigan legal system and the legal costs they would inevitably incur.
Appeared in BioNews.
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