Surrogacy: Have we really progressed to “made to order” babies?

December 13, 2009 by Cathy Ribble
Filed under: News

Laschell and Paul Baker holding the twins she bore July 28 as a surrogate mother. She got a court order to retrieve them.

After years of infertility, Amy Kehoe and her husband, Scott, became desperate to “create” a baby, causing untold numbers to question their “made to order” method. Some would even call Amy Kehoe a “general contractor.” The story which unfolded brings many ethical and moral questions to the practice of third-party reproduction.

Generally speaking, a “general contractor” talks to subs they might want to work with. They look at qualifications, they accept bids, sign a contract, and let the subs perform the contracted work.

Amy Kehoe picked out a pre-med student from the University of Michigan to be an egg donor. She then selected an anonymous sperm donor from the web site California Cryobank. His qualifications were a 4.0 high school grade-point average and athletic.

Then Amy Kehoe found someone to carry and deliver her baby, also known as a surrogate. She also located a fertility clinic which would “assemble” her baby.

The couple paid for the egg, the sperm. as well as a surrogate willing to undergo in vitro fertilization. While their roles did not include traditional methods of procreation, Kehoe said, “They wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for us.”

On July 28, the Kehoes welcomed the birth of Ethan and Bridget at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The happy family went home from the hospital on August 3 to meet the rest of their family. But the question arises, “Exactly who was their extended family?”

The surrogate mother, Laschell Baker, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, then learned that Amy Kehoe was being treated for mental illness. She filed for and obtained a court order to take custody of Bridget and Ethan. After having the babies in their home for approximately one month, the Kehoes were forced to relinquish custody to. The twins will now be raised by Laschell Baker and her husband, Paul.

“I couldn’t see living the rest of my life worrying and wondering what had happened, or what if she hadn’t taken her medicine, or what if she relapsed,” said Mrs. Baker, who has four children of her own.

According to the New York Times piece written on this story, approximately 750 babies are born each year in the United States through gestational surrogacy. Some reports claim that more than twice that many surrogate pregnancies are attempted.

The birth of this set of twins raised many challenging questions for the best of family law — or contract law — lawyers. Instead of the normal two, or maybe even three, people involved in the birth of a child, more than five parties were involved in Ethan and Bridget’s creation and birth: the egg donor, the sperm donor, Laschell Baker (and her husband), Amy and Scott Kehoe, as well as the two separate services which brokered the egg and the sperm.

The profound legal implications may haunt these two innocent children the rest of their lives.

To read more about the legal complexities of surrogacy, read the following:

21st Century Babies: The Gift of Life and Its Price

21st Century Babies: Risky Path to Parenthood

21st Century Babies: Made to Order

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Tags: Amy Kehoe, Ann Arbor, Bridget, California Cryobank, contract law, Ethan, family law, general contractor, in vitro fertilization, infertility, Laschell Baker, mental illness, Michigan, Paul, Scott Kehoe, separate services, surrogacy, The New York Times, The New York Times Co, the University of Michigan, third party reproduction, United States, University Hospital, Ypsilanti

Comments

13 Comments on "Surrogacy: Have we really progressed to “made to order” babies?"

amy on Tue, 15th Dec 2009 1:55 am

I ‘manufactured’ my babies, and I ’self-contracted’?? That is quite the terms to use for making precious life - you should be ashamed of yourself! Scott & I did this out of LOVE, not a ‘made to order’ baby. Our first choice, before any, was PROVEN egg donor and PROVEN sperm donor, then we made our choices from there. There were a list to choose from, and I’m sorry if I should have chosen someone that is illiterate and dumb………my BIG mistake! - so you see it as anyway. These babies were made out of love, they were not made for any other reason. Laschell scammed me in the worst of ways. I had an approved home study, I had a psychiatrist that wrote a letter of recommendation (stating I would make a good parent, and a good parent if even one of the children had a severe handicap), I also had 6 letters of recommendation, and I had a judge that awarded me Legal Guardianship. Wow! - I’m so bad that I didn’t get Shelley’s approval, but got highly educated people’s approval. …..amazing that Shelley can use this against me as if I am a monster and someone totally incompetent after all of those other great reviews! Shelley must think she is GOD, the all knowing and able to judge others.

JKM on Tue, 12th Jan 2010 2:22 pm

This is a sad story. I too had infertility problems but have been blessed with finally getting pregnant and 2 babies. Those babies belong to the Kehoe’s and the Bakers should be ashamed! Watching Shelly talk on GMA this morning made me sick! I am very sorry Scott and Amy for your loss and I wish I could help. If you ever want to do it again I would love to carry a child for you! Good luck and I hope God
blesses you with a life of happiness!

JKM on Tue, 12th Jan 2010 2:26 pm

Oh and Amy, please pray for those babies and please pray for the Bakers. I know it’s hard but they are raising the children now and in my opinion, they are unfit parents! I will be praying for all involved! I am very sorry for your loss. God bless!

Trudy on Thu, 28th Jan 2010 9:34 pm

Lets’ give Amy a break here…Shelly knew that she was seeing a Physcharist…if Shelly wanted to know why then she could have asked…but she didn’t and admits to that.

As for a DUI..not nice, but it was in long in the past, and it would seem Amy has made plenty of better choices since then and was taking responsibility for her life.

Should anyone be allowed to go to such measures isn’t the point..the law says they can, there is nothing illegal about it.

Juliana on Fri, 29th Jan 2010 7:33 am

Let’s see; seize children from a birth mother as if the children were inanimate property and hand them over to two people who are so maladjusted they cannot pass basic criminal background checks or discuss the situation without resorting to personal attacks and statements like “We’ve talked to members of your church and they don’t have nice things to say about you.”.

Yeah, what a great idea! After all, it’s only genes that matter! Let’s give those kids a negatively stacked deck before they’re even walking by giving them to two screwballs who wouldn’t even be considered suitable candidates for adoption if Shelley had placed her children up for adoption.

Does that register with anyone? Amy Kehoe would not pass standards to be an adoptive or a foster mother. What on earth entitles her to seize children from a woman who has the express right to change her mind at the last second? NOTHING!

I hope Shelley and Paul Baker move far out of state, change their names, and live nice, long, peaceful lives.

Amy and her husband? I hope Amy finds a doctor skilled enough to figure out what’s wrong with her, and that she takes a good hard look at the choices she’s made for herself and realized that in adulthood, noone gets a free clean slate. We all have to live with the consequences of our actions. If I’d chosen to rack up some DUIs and cocaine charges and later complained when nobody would hire me due to my bad choices as an adult, nobody would show me the kind of sympathy some people are saying Amy is entitled to have. That’s just the pinnacle of hypocrisy.

Angie on Fri, 29th Jan 2010 3:43 pm

I learned of this story from watching Dr. Phil yesterday. I must say I’m still VERY upset from what I saw and heard. My heart aches for you Amy and Scott and I pray that those babies are returned to you. YOU are their parents! You planned for them, prepared for them, I know you cannot put a price on a baby but all the expense of having them, maternity clothing for Shelley, Gas for Shelley, A HOUSEKEEPER FOR SHELLEY COME ON! I am blessed to be able to have my own children 4, 1 set of boy/ girl twins. As far as this “general contractor” crap. That is silly too. HELLO? WE ALL can qualify for that! I mean SERIOUSLY when you marry with the intention to have kids you pic a man or woman who has the traits you think would make a good parent and want to see in your children! I mean either way you had to pay for these babies to be conceived so why not find the qualities and characteristics you hope your child to have? I hate to say it but from what I saw and heard on the show I honestly believe that Shelley has some mental issues of her own, YOU Amy are the bigger woman for knowing you have the problem and seeking help and taking care of yourself. You should not be judged or sentenced for something you did 9 years ago. WE ARE HUMAN! We ALL make mistakes and have things in our past. If we all had to go through that screening NO ONE OF US WOULD pass with flying colors or be a “fit” parent.

Juliana on Sat, 30th Jan 2010 8:14 am

“WE ARE HUMAN! We ALL make mistakes and have things in our past. If we all had to go through that screening NO ONE OF US WOULD pass with flying colors or be a “fit” parent.”

Funny, I’ve managed to get through 30 years of living with no drug charges, DUIs or other criminal records. There’s a huge difference between making mistakes and deliberately making bad, self-defeating choices. A mistake is something you make once, learn from, and never make again. People who learn from their mistakes and decide not to make them again do not have extensive criminal records. People who are genuinely mature and have their priorities straight do not make jackasses of themselves on national television.

Most of you people are giving Amy Kehoe a free pass because she’s got the excuse of “psychotic disorder not otherwise specified” to justify her bad choices. The subject of her mental illness was just sensationalized on Dr. Phil and elsewhere in the media for obvious reasons of ratings. Shelley and Paul Baker repeatedly tried to get the point across that the main reason they felt so uncomfortable in giving the children over was because of the LIE. It’s been said that Shelley knew Amy was seeing a psychiatrist so obviously she wasn’t so disturbed at the idea that Amy needed or wanted mental help from professionals. It’s the lie about the criminal/drug/alcohol history that caused the upset. She was RIGHT to be upset about that, and she made the right choice in keeping the kids she bore.

This is an open-shut situation. When a surrogate mother changes her mind, that’s the end of it. Too bad for the intending parents; try again with someone else or don’t, but don’t act like you’re entitled. By law you are not. Michigan law (and laws in nearly every other state) clearly put Shelley Baker in the right.

Juliana on Sat, 30th Jan 2010 8:53 am

Oh wait, just learned that Amy’s eggs weren’t used. She doesn’t even have a biological link to those kids. That makes this case even more open-shut.

susan on Sun, 31st Jan 2010 1:23 am

Juliana,
You are so WRONG!!!! Shelly Baker is a kidnapper plain and simple and read the comments on Dr Phils website and 99% of the people agree.
Shelly can’t keep her lies straight .First it was mental illness as her excuse for kidnapping Bridgette and Ethan and when that didn’t fly now it’s an eight or nine year old DUI.
Shelly and her husband were the ones that made jackasses of themselves on T.V. The eye rolling and fake tears were disgusting.Her uneducated opinionated obviously controlling personality was unbelievable.
Amy and Scott have handled themselves with dignity this whole ordeal.For me it certainly shows Amy’s mental health being fine because if it was my children stolen I would be a mess.
You must be friends with the kidnapper to be defending her and I would suggest you get her to do the right thing and return those babies to the rightful parents.
I hear Shelly has a PR person and a book deal. Wonder if she’s trying for a reality show as well.
Shelly is the one who needs serious help here. She obviously has self esteem and control issues.Since she now has 6 children in her home why doesn’t she stay in it and stop trying to whore herself and those babies out on TV parading her uneducated views. No one is buying it and your lack of empathy for the parents Amy and Scott is appalling .

susan on Sun, 31st Jan 2010 1:25 am

Juliana,
One last point so what they were not her eggs. The point here is intent. Those babies were created for Amy and Scott. They would never be here if not for them.
So you want to kick them some more while they are down because they suffered through years of infertility and had to use donor.

susan on Sun, 31st Jan 2010 1:32 am

Juliana,
Wow ! another ridiculous untrue point you made Amy and Scott did pass a home study by liceansed qualified proffessionals .I doubt Shelly and Paul could.Amy and Scott are approved and qualified to adopt!!!!

You also forgot to add that in Dr Phils show Shelly really showed her true intent when questioned by Dr Phil about him providing proffesionals to evaluate Amy and Paul would she give the babies back if she knew they would be safe.I mean after all that is why she claims she kept them. Of Course her answer was No.Not suprising because her reasons are all bull.

Jennifer on Tue, 23rd Feb 2010 4:33 pm

I am shocked that no mental history about the adoptive mom was not disclosed till the end! i lived in a mental mothers crazy behavior and so did my brothers and eldest son. it is hard to live with a parent so out of touch and even thou she thought she was a good mom she was a monster. she had no real connection with any of us and left us with who is she really? i still have to cope with what she had done to us and helping my son see past 18 with real thinking of how will i survive on my own once college is done. she took our child hood away by making us watch her lose it every now and then after that mental abuse, yes she was seeing a doctor and taking meds for depression plus…did any one else notice how the other couples body langage i did and saw moms eyes and that reminded me of my mom.i swear it seems the woman who lost her babies was lieing and has not stayed with the same story like the surragate did and she trully seems to love those babies. god saved those babies by giving them someone to save them.

Jennifer on Tue, 23rd Feb 2010 4:44 pm

Juliana i agree. i cant imagine anyone giving amy and her husband any child with out permenant house visits. mentallay ill people can shed crocodile tears and convince anyone they are the victims. i know because my mom used that to convince others we were the problem not her. how would people react if amy killed herself and these kids? shelly and her family would still be hated especially for gving them to her then.

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