UK laws favour surrogate mothers

Helen Beasley is expecting twins in November

A woman who is suing an American couple for pulling out of a surrogate baby deal would not be facing a legal battle if she had chosen British parents, according to a UK surrogacy organisation.

Helen Beasley is taking American couple Charles Wheeler and Martha Berman to court after they allegedly backed out of the contract when they discovered she was carrying twins and not the one baby they had agreed.

Under California law, all rights to the future of the twins lie with the intended parents, not the surrogate mother.

The couple in this case are a lot in the wrong

COTS spokeswoman

But in Britain the would-be parents have no rights even if the child is genetically related to both of them.

The surrogate mother is the legal parent and six weeks after the birth the new parents must apply for a Parental Order to give them full and permanent rights over the child.

Ms Beasley must now take Mr Wheeler and Ms Berman to court to have their legal rights quashed so that she can find new parents for the twins.

The organisation Childlessness Overcome Through Surrogacy (COTS) says this legal position would never exist in Britain.

A COTS spokeswoman said: "The legal system over here is completely different.

"In this country if the parents said they didn't want the child it would be up to the surrogate to find some others."

Internet dangers

She said Ms Beasley took a risk by finding the prospective parents over the internet rather than using a respectable agency.

She added: "I would definitely not do it over the internet. You can pretend to be anyone and it's not safe.

COTS has a policy of vetting couples, which includes checking police records and medical information.

The spokeswoman said: "The twins thing should have been discussed at the beginning.

"The couple in this case are a lot in the wrong obviously.

Expenses

"It's a very, very sad case and the poor children are the ones who are suffering.

"I would hope that the babies go to a loving adoptive couple who desperately want them and that they stay together."

Surrogacy is legal in the UK, but surrogate mothers cannot be paid.

They can accept only "reasonable expenses" for costs incurred during the pregnancy.

COTS was set up in 1988 by Kim Cotton, who gave birth to twins for an infertile couple.

The organisation has since arranged more than 350 surrogate births.