Surrogate refuses to abort healthy baby after being asked by parents to do so

Getting a surrogate to carry their baby is sometimes the last resort for many who struggle with infertility or for one reason or another can’t carry a baby to term themselves. 

There is no denying that the baby, growing inside someone else’s uterus, is yours, but when it comes to making decisions regarding that baby’s life and death, where do you stand?

In the US, a surrogate mum, currently 17 weeks pregnant with triplets, is being asked by the babies biological parents to abort one of the babies, but is now locked in a dispute with them after refusing to do so.

26-year-old Brittneyrose Torres from California had agreed to carry a baby for a couple who could not get pregnant, and through IVF two fertilized eggs from the biological parents were implanted, with the hope that at least one would survive.

But one of the fertilized eggs split, creating twins, so Torres, who herself is married and has a young child, is now carrying twin boys and a girl. After learning about this when Torres was 13 weeks pregnant, the babies biological parents asked Torres to abort the female fetus. This, argues, Torres, is something she had explained to the parents she would only do if there was a real risk for her own life over the course of the pregnancy, and is therefore refusing to go through with the procedure.

“We would never want to abort a baby’s life,” Torres told the New York Post recently. “We did not think we would be in this position.”

She explains that the birth parents made the demand citing ‘increased medical risks for developmental disabilities’, but after getting in contact with her own doctors, the surrogate said there were no abnormalities in any of the fetuses, and is hence refusing to follow through with their request.

“I told her I couldn’t abort one of the children,” Torres explains. “I could not emotionally and physically do that at nearly 13 weeks. I believe it will be killing this baby.”

In an effort to fight the abortion demand, the 26year-old has reached out to surrogacy watchdog The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network.

The contact between Torres and the biological parents stipulates that Torres will receive $25,000 for carrying one baby and an additional $5,000 for carrying two or more. Currently, the babies biological parents are withholding Torres’ pay over her refusal to follow through with their request, something that according to the contract is their every right.

“Surrogacy contracts almost always include an abortion clause,” explains Jennifer Lahl, president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, to Yahoo Parenting. “The biological parents get to decide if and when there’s a termination. It’s the expectation that she works for them. It’s an ugly way to handle women’s bodies and pregnancy.”

What a heartbreaking case. How do YOU feel about surrogacy? Do you think the surrogate should make that decision, or is it up to the biological parents to make decisions over what is essentially their babies? Join the conversation with us on Twitter at @Herfamilydotie