A surrogate is warning about conditions in the lucrative industry after she birthed triplets for a 51-year-old single man who was deaf and living in his parents' basement. After one positive surrogate experience, single mom Melissa signed up again, in need of the $33,000 fee for the 9-month rental of her body.
Eggs from a 20-year-old donor were fertilized with sperm from the father, with whom she communicated only by email. In August 2015, three embryos were transferred into Melissa's body. With IVF procedures, more than one fertilized embryo is implanted to maximize potential for success.
In this case, Melissa became pregnant with triplets. But when the father found out, he asked Melissa to abort one. "He sent me a text saying, 'I'm not sure I can have three kids. Can you think about aborting?'" Melissa told the Daily Mail.
"I was like, 'Are you kidding?'" she responded.
Doctors told Melissa if she proceeded with the abortion, they would inject one of the triplets, who would die, but stay alongside his brothers until birth.
Court records also show emails from the father to the clinic monitoring Melissa's pregnancy, in which he asks staff to help him to keep the costs down.
"Please try to make her visits [to the clinic] less often because I get a bill that costs me a lot of money… it causes me financial problems," he wrote. "[I can't] afford triplets… that worries me so bad for real."
He said this despite knowing about the complications that arose during the pregnancy. Melissa suffered from hypotension [low blood pressure] and developed gestational diabetes.
Melissa said it became obvious the man wasn't capable of raising triplets.
In court documents seen by the Mail, the father’s sister also described him as "socially awkward, paranoid, and prone to frequent anger fits." He also has a "history of being cruel to animals."
Melissa says she became filled with anxiety. "It affected my pregnancy. I could feel all three babies inside me."
The father continued to demand she abort one of the babies, but she responded she would keep one and raise it.
"I went public because I didn't want to abort one of the babies," she said. "As a mother, I felt protective towards them. I still do."
Melissa's long-running legal efforts to get access to the children have failed. She remains concerned they are not safe.
"I have never seen the boys, who are six now, but I want them to know I am here for them. My door is always open."
Cook is suing for custody and feels a bond with the three children she carried and nourished for 9 months.
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