She agreed to be a surrogate for her Facebook friend: she repented and now they are fighting for custody | the Chronicle

Two women are locked in a legal battle in the Massachusetts court system as they fight for guardianship of a child, identified as Keanu, after having done a surrogacy agreement via Facebook.

For three years, the so-called “Keanu’s tutelage“intrigued the justice of the State of Massachusetts, where there is few laws regulating belly surrogacy. This legal odyssey began when a woman, named only as the “expectant mother” in court documents, went looking for a surrogate mother on Facebook:

“Who wants to leave a baby for me and my fiancee?“, the woman posted in Facebook at the start of 2017. Faced with the unusual demand, an Internet user who said she was a childhood friend of the said fiancée replied: “Hey, if you and your fiancée were serious about the baby … So i would like“.

The woman, named in the case as the biological mother, was in a relationship and had two children. Knowing how costly the adoption process can be for same-sex couples, she offered to conceive the baby with her boyfriend and deliver it at birth. She would also volunteer to cover medical costs on her own, hoping that insurance would cover the costs.

“I have people who say they can’t do it or that it would be ruthless to give up a baby, but it doesn’t, because I help“Wrote the woman in the social network.I know you would be awesome mothersHe added to the couple. Without even meet in person or consult with a lawyer, the surrogate parents went to work and in December 2017, Keanu was born.

The delivery was immediate, with the birth mother delivering the baby to the hospital. The couples had previously agreed that the biological mother I would be out of sight during Keanu’s childhood, after which the mother-to-be would reveal her origins to him. “Honestly, I’m having a baby for both of us, so this is it will depend 100% on youThe birth mother wrote on Facebook Messenger.I have a boy and a girl so I am already satisfied“he added.

Since Massachusetts law requires a period of six months of guardianship before being able to apply for adoption of a child, Intended Mothers took Keanu and prepared to wait to formalize his adoption. After agreeing to the arrangement, the birth mother was not present for the first few months, he noted. Heather-Jill Williams, lawyer for the future mother, in the pleadings of the trial on custody.

A change of heart

The exchange between the couples seemed to confuse the doctors at the hospital, who put little Keanu on the birth mother’s health insurance policy, leading her to his own eldest son was knocked out of the plan. This confusion triggered a change of mind in the birth mother’s heart, which would start to fight for custody of the child.

As evidenced by the Facebook posts between the women, the biological mother asked the other woman to immediately adopt the child or “give it back”, despite the fact that there was still almost two months left before the date on which he could apply for full legal custody. It was then that the biological mother presented a petition to end the guardianship. A month later, the biological father did the same, although the couple appear to have ended their relationship.

In her complaint, the birth mother argued that the intended mother I have not been trained raising a child because of depression and stress that she began to suffer after breaking up with her fiancée. While the requests of the biological parents were delayed in court, the term of guardianship was fulfilled and the future mother asked for adoption, which was awarded in July 2018.

“He belongs to his royal family“wrote the biological mother at the time on her Facebook”,not in a house where they use it to play mom“Time passed and the relationship between the women became violent: a month after the adoption, the expectant mother discovered that they had threw a brick out the window from his house, with a note that read: “He is mine“. Justice determined that it was the biological father who launched the threat.

Keanu’s custody trial

What followed was a fierce custody battle for Keanu. Legal procedures are already taking 3 years. The most recent development came on July 22, when a state appeals court ruled in favor of the adoptive mother after a trial judge has determined that the birth parents are unfit to care for the child. The decision, the judge said, was not entirely satisfactory:

“I’m afraid the parties have put the child in this danger“he said during oral argument.”But the two sets of potential parents here they are far from ideal. I have no words for the matter. But, it must be resolved for the sake of the child in an appropriate manner.“.

Today, with almost 3 years, Keanu stays with his adoptive mothersince the family court judge ruled that the child should stay with the only mother he has ever known. The birth mother has appealed the decision to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which is considering whether or not to observe the case.