Same-Sex Couple Sues Surrogate who Refused to Abort Their 2-year-old Son Over a Minor Birth Defect

A same-sex male couple in Canada has sued a surrogate mother who believes she is being punished because she refused a request to abort the baby after doctors detected a cleft lip and a possible heart defect.

In a suit filed in Ontario Superior Court in May, the parents allege the surrogate mother failed to keep them informed about the baby’s health, put the baby at risk, caused them emotional distress and violated their confidentiality, The National Post reported.

The outlet, which reviewed the claim but withheld the identities of the mother and the couple, reported that the lawsuit came two years after the couple asked her to terminate the pregnancy at 22 weeks — a request she refused.

The lawsuit does not cite her refusal as a reason for the suit, but the mother and the surrogacy agency both say the relationship with the couple deteriorated after she decided to continue the pregnancy.

“That’s when everything changed … they wanted a termination,” Sally Rhoads-Heinrich, owner of Surrogacy in Canada Online, told the outlet. “What I find most difficult in this is they are suing the woman who brought their son to them. How is their son going to feel someday if he learns that?” (Read more from “Same-Sex Couple Sues Surrogate who Refused to Abort Their 2-year-old Son Over a Minor Birth Defect” HERE)