A millionaire gay couple have been condemned for fathering twins using IVF and a surrogate mother from the US. Barrie Drewitt, 30, and Tony Barlow, 35, have spent £200,000 to bypass UK laws and become biological fathers when the surrogate gives birth to a boy and a girl in December. The couple, who have been together for 11 years and live in a mock Grecian bungalow in Chelmsford, Essex, provided sperm to fertilise two donor eggs each, which were then transferred to the surrogate mother. The twins, already named Aspen and Saffron, will be born in California where the couple have a home, and will be brought to the UK in the new year. The couple considered adoption and unsuccessfully tried artificial insemination with a friend.
They are believed to have used a Los Angeles-based surrogacy agency called Growing Generations which exclusively works for gay clients: there are fewer restrictions in the US on gay men and lesbians seeking help to have children. They were introduced to Rosalind Bellamy, the surrogate, who has four children with her husband and has acted as a surrogate before.
The couple's story, first reported in Woman's Own magazine has drawn criticism from various quarters including adoption workers. Felicity Collier, director of British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, acknowledged that people in same gender relationships could make very good parents but then made it clear that they would not support surrogacy - regardless of the sexuality of the commissioning couple - since it involves the transfer of a child from the birth mother to another person. More strident criticism came from family and morality campaigners. Valerie Riches, director of Family and Youth Concern said: 'It is not a natural environment for children to be brought up in.'
Sources and References
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The tangled saga of two wealthy gays and the woman...
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Two gay men and a baby
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Gay couple pay for surrogate mother's twins
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Gay men are expecting £200,000 twins
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