Couple sues surrogate who refused to abort their baby over a minor birth defect

A Canadian same-sex couple is suing the woman who carried their now 2-year-old son because she refused their demand to abort the fetus because of a minor birth defect and a cleft lip.According to the suit, filed in Ontario Superior Court in May and obtained by the National Post, the parents claim the surrogate didn’t adequately keep them informed about the baby’s health, put the child at risk, violated confidentiality and caused them emotional distress.The exact dollar figure was not mentioned in the filing, but the mother, whom the outlet does not name, said the couple has indicated they’re seeking around $600,000.“You know I’m a single mom, you know I have a daughter, and you’re basically suing me for my house.It seems very s—ty, it’s just awful,” she told the outlet.

“I just feel used … They didn’t get the perfect child they wanted and they threw me away.”Unlike the US, where pay for surrogate mothers can exceed $100,000, Canadian surrogates are only reimbursed for receipted expenses they incur in bringing the pregnancy to term.The woman shared that once she decided to become a surrogate and her profile was posted on Surrogacy in Canada Online’s website, she was inundated by dozens of prospective families, some of whom even sent her flowers.She ultimately decided on the same-sex couple and had in-vitro fertilization using embryos from a donor egg and both of their sperm.The relationship started off strong, but soured in June 2024 when she told the couple about an ultrasound revealing the baby had a cleft lip, possibly a cleft palate, and a minor heart defect.She received a response from the couple asking that she terminate the pregnancy while she was in the Dominican Republic to officiate a wrestling tournament, leaving her “devastated.”“Considering that medical tests indicate that the fetus has, or is likely to have, a genetic, chromosomal or other abnormality or defect, and in accordance with article 8.5 (a) of our surrogacy a...