California Court of Appeal dismisses surrogate’s appeal in triplet case

The California Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a surrogate who sought that she have custody of triplets. Her appeal sought to challenge the constitutional validity of laws governing surrogacy in California.

The Court of Appeal noted:

1. the surrogate was legally represented before she signed the agreement.
2. she was aware when signing of court cases that had the effect that when born the children would be children of the intended father.
3. her then lawyer was of the view that the surrogate signed the agreement with a clear and informed understanding of the agreement.
4. in the agreement, the surrogate agreed to freely and readily establish the parental relationship between the intended father and any child born out of the agreement.

When the father sought parentage of the triplets, the surrogate counterclaimed, seeking that the children were hers, that one child live with her (the one she said that the father sought to have aborted), that there be a trial about where the other children were to live and claiming that the father was 50, a postal worker who was deaf, caring for his elderly parents and incapable of caring for the children, and that he submit to DNA testing to determine if he were the genetic father of the children.

The court held that because the father complied with the requirements under California law to establish parenthood, the appeal was dismissed. The court found that under Californian law that the surrogacy agreement was enforceable, and should be enforced.