New York Times features Circle Surrogacy couples, surrogates and president in a front
page article
The New York Times has recently published an article on its front page, featuring Circle Surrogacy’s president, John Weltman and several of Circle Surrogacy’s clients and surrogates. The article describes a “growing movement of surrogate mothers choosing gay couples over traditional families” since “gay couples have developed a reputation as especially grateful clients.”
Below are some excerpts from that article. For the full article, go to the New York Times website (may require registration)
“Surrogate Mother's New Niche:
Bearing Babies for Gay Couples”
Excerpts from a May 27, 2005, front
page
New York Times article
By Ginia Bellafante.
“In December, Ms. Stiller gave birth to the baby, named Samantha, for Dr. Friedman and Dr. Wellisch, conceived with a donor egg and the sperm from one of the partners. (They chose not to know which.) In her decision to work with them Ms. Stiller is part of a small but growing movement of surrogate mothers choosing gay couples over traditional families.”
“Hundreds of couples are finding ways to create families with or without marriage through surrogates like Ms. Stiller, who are willing to help them have children genetically linked to them and to bypass the often difficult legal challenges gay men face in adoption “
“Within the close-knit world of professional childbearers, many of whom share their joys and disillusionments online and in support groups, gay couples have developed a reputation as especially grateful clients, willing to meet a surrogate's often intense demands for emotional connection, though the relationships can give rise to other complications within the surrogate's family and community.”
“In the last 13 years, Ms. Stiller has had five children: one with her first husband, two with her current husband and two more as a surrogate. “
“Her first excursion into the world of surrogacy, for a Florida husband and wife, left her feeling unappreciated and depleted, she said. A friend in the surrogate world suggested she find a gay couple through the agency Circle Surrogacy.”
“John Weltman, a Boston lawyer, had a challenging time finding women to carry children for gay men when he founded Circle Surrogacy a decade ago. Today, he said, 80 percent of the surrogate mothers who come to him say they would be willing to work with gay couples, and half prefer to work with gay couples...”
“Most surrogates today, for heterosexual or gay couples, work as gestational carriers, meaning they bring children to term but not with their own genetic material. (Couples availing themselves of surrogacy typically get eggs from banks where donors are identified by their height, weight, College Board and I.Q. scores.)”
“For Ann Nelson, 36, a mother of four in Wheeling, W.Va., an urge toward surrogacy began to surface in college. The first couple with whom she tried to work, a man and a woman from New England, asked her to sign a contract before insemination that stipulated she would eat no processed foods or refined sugars during her pregnancy.
"I thought, 'Have you ever been to Wheeling, W.Va.?' " said Ms. Nelson, who decided not to go forward with that couple.”Where was I going to find these things?
"I knew that surrogacy was not going to be a cakewalk, but I hadn't expected and wasn't prepared for this level of micromanagement."
She has since borne three children for two gay couples.
Some surrogates also say they find the sense of defiance in providing gay couples with children meaningful.
"In all honesty, there's a bit of a rebellious nature in me," acknowledged Shannon Klein, a mother of three in Cypress, Calif., who home-schools her children. "I know that there are people who wouldn't approve of being a surrogate for gay parents, and that has made it more intriguing."
Ms. Klein has borne two children for two gay couples, and she is pregnant with twins for a third.
About Circle Surrogacy
Since 1995, Circle Surrogacy has helped bring to the world over 200 babies. Its dedicated staff of professionals is made up of lawyers, social workers, parents through surrogacy, surrogates and past clients. Circle Surrogacy provides a choice of specialized clinics at locations throughout the country, a large selection of egg donors, swift matching with carefully screened surrogates, and a variety of flexible programs and financial options to suit its clients’ unique family choices.
John Weltman, owner, founder is a Yale graduate and a nationally recognized expert in the field of reproductive law, including surrogacy and gay parenting.