Act Daily News
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A Spanish TV actress has sparked controversy after utilizing a surrogate to satisfy what she says was the ultimate want of her useless son: to have a baby.
Ana Obregón introduced the start in a canopy story for Hola! journal printed earlier in April, detailing how she used sperm samples from son Aless, who died of most cancers in 2020 on the age of 27, to impregnate a surrogate mom.
Obregón – a 68-year-old socialite who’s married to Italian aristocrat Alessandro Lequio – has lengthy been a fixture on Spanish tv, and is greatest recognized for showing in sequence reminiscent of “A las once en casa.”
Such was the curiosity within the baby in Spain that one other journal, Letras, tracked down the surrogate – a lady of Cuban origin that lives in Florida – and splashed pictures of her on its entrance web page.
The story has sparked each authorized and moral debate in Spain, the place surrogacy is against the law and sperm samples can solely be used to impregnate a widowed associate inside 12 months of the donor’s loss of life with their specific permission.
Obregón informed Hola! that the newborn, Ana Sandra Lequio Obregón, was born on March 20 in Miami and can have a US passport. She will probably be registered on the Spanish consulate in Miami earlier than flying house to Spain, added Obregón.
Some have questioned whether or not Obregón ought to be capable to convey a child born through a way unlawful underneath Spanish legislation into the nation.
But the actress says she has paperwork proving that she is legally acknowledged because the child’s mom within the United States, and adopting a baby born overseas is authorized in Spain.
While some consultants say the legalities of the scenario are unclear, many authorized commentators have stated she is unlikely to face any authorized points upon returning house.
However the case has additionally raised ethical questions over surrogacy. Spanish legislation considers the observe “a form of violence against women.”
Others have questioned Obregon’s declare that she was fulfilling her son’s dying want.
“It seems questionable to me that the wishes of the deceased would have been for his sperm to be used to impregnate an egg in the body of a woman in another country,” stated philosophy professor Gonzalo Velasco in an interview with radio station Cadena Ser.
“It seems quite convoluted,” he added, likening the developments to a narrative by horror creator Stephen King or melodramatic Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.
Verónica Fumanal, president of Spain’s Association of Political Communication (ACOP) stated the announcement made her consider the dystopian TV sequence “Black Mirror.”
“She bought herself a grandaughter with sperm from her dead son,” stated Fumanal in an interview with Cadena Ser, who questioned the best way through which Obregón had publicized the newborn’s start.
“She put a camera in her face and sold the exclusive,” stated Fumanal.
Obregón has sought to dampen the controversy, calling the talk in Spain “absurd” as a result of surrogacy is authorized in lots of international locations all over the world.
Spain is one in all many international locations the place surrogacy is against the law, and in others, such because the United Kingdom, surrogacy is authorized however restricted.
These restrictions, along with excessive prices and a scarcity of surrogates, encourage UK {couples} to search for a surrogate overseas, together with within the US, the place the method is extra simple.
Obregón informed Hola! that surrogacy is “very normalized” within the US and that there is no such thing as a debate like there’s in Spain.
She additionally revealed how child Ana suits into her household.
“This girl isn’t my daughter, but my grandaughter,” she informed Hola! “She is Aless’ daughter and when she grows up I will tell her that her father was a hero.”
Obregón additionally stated that Aless all the time wished an enormous household, and didn’t rule out repeating the method in order that Ana might have a brother or sister.
But subsequent on the agenda is the discharge of a e-book which tells the story of the surrogacy, scheduled for publication on April 19.
Act Daily News has contacted representatives of each Ana Obregón and her husband Alessandro Lequio for remark.
Source: www.cnn.com