... to think that a couple of nearly 70 should not be commissioning a child through surrogacy?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

See article below, and extract from it with the key facts. This is abhorrent. This child was bought. There really is no other way to look at this. He was conceived for a 69yo man, whose sperm was used along with donor eggs from an unknown American woman, and a woman of presumably similar age, who paid another woman to go through the pregnancy and birth. The couple could never reasonably have expected to see this child to live to adulthood, and in fact the commissioning mother has already died. A couple of this age would not be allowed to adopt a child in the UK because in law the child's welfare comes first (rightly). The use of surrogacy puts a coach and horses through that. It ought to be banned in every country of the world, as it is in fact in a great many, but I'm not holding my breath on the US seeing sense in this area any times soon.

I don't see what else the court could have done here, given that the damage was already done. Poor little boy.

Edinburgh sheriff grants parental order recognising 72-year-old man and late wife as parents of three-year-old boy | Scottish Legal News

On 21 August 2020, A was born in the State of Oklahoma. The first petitioner’s gametes were used to bring about the creation of the embryo of the child along with the gametes of an American donor, with the surrogate who carried the child and her husband consenting to the making of the order. The State of Oklahoma issued a birth certificate on 2 October 2020 recording the petitioners as the child’s mother and father.

Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, the first petitioner was unable to travel to the USA until July 2021, while the second petitioner’s health prevented her travel altogether. During the intervening period, A was cared for by a professional nanny, who agreed to act as A’s guardian in the event that the first petitioner died before A turned 18. A decision was made by the first petitioner not to apply for an order as a single parent, necessitating a guardianship order in respect of the second petitioner. This was granted by Dundee Sheriff Court in May 2023.

A was brought to Scotland by the first petitioner in August 2021. He visited the second petitioner in her nursing home three times a week for 21 months and recognised her as his mother. The first petitioner, while outwith the normal accepted range of parenthood, was described as active and energetic, and had enrolled A in nursery and researched boarding schools for his secondary education.

It was submitted that it was better for A that a parental order be granted than no order be made at all. ...

This is absolutely disgusting.

that poor poor child.
immoral and unethical in so many ways

Once a country has decided it is acceptable to buy and sell human children, why bother quibbling about the details.

Yes, surrogacy should be banned, full stop.

This is a classic example of just because you can do something (in a convoluted, selfish way that costs lots of money) doesn’t mean you should.

This child and their future wasn’t at the forefront of the minds of anyone involved in this.

Who the hell thinks you are being unreasonable?

They wouldn't have been allowed to adopt a child because of their age, surely.

I'm a 75 year old woman, I think I can honestly say I'm pretty fit for my age and have a very open attitude to life, but my god, there's no way on earth that I would be able to cope with bringing up a small child.

Children need more than token parents in their lives, they need parents to give them time and love.

That poor child is going to be shunted off to boarding school because his father isn't going to be able to look after him, and likely doesn't want to anyway, and even if he did he probably doesn't have the energy.

So they 'commissioned' a child? This is a human being, not something like a work of art. How can anyone be allowed, in law, to 'commission a human being.

Bloody horrific.

There's always one!

Especially on this kind of thread, there are a number of posters who can’t seem to think beyond “aaw a baby how lovely”.

Truly awful..

well, I was being sarcastic .... but I take your point and feel admonished.

That poor kid. What a shit show that is. Visiting his mum in her nursing home, and being palmed off to boarding school when he's an older.

Jon ‘Fuck the Tories’ Snow had a child ‘ by surrogacy’ when he was 73.

Didn’t agree with that either. At least his wife was only 47/48.

That poor little boy.

Yes, and I don't approve of that either, but his wife was 47 at the time, so has a much better chance of seeing that child grow to adulthood. Also, the child has half-siblings on Snow's side at least who might be willing to take on a guardianship role if necessary. I hope these issues were discussed before the birth.

We don't know anything about the parents in this case except the man's age. I'm guessing that his now deceased wife was a similar age, but she could have been significantly older or younger. We have no idea if there are half-siblings and if they might want to be involved in the child's life. One might expect the court report to have mentioned them if they exist.

The fertility clinic and/or surrogacy agency in the US must have no ethical framework at all to have facilitated this.

This is so fucking selfish. Disgusting people.

I thought that was gross too. According to him his 49 year old wife 'deserved' a baby.

Well have one when you're of an age you actually can then ffs, they were married in 2010! And don't pay for another woman to do the hard work for you. And don't have a child whose dad is probably going to be dead before the kid leaves school.

I had respect for Jon Snow before he did this.

Absolutely not fair to expect siblings to take on a caring role. I'm sure they have their own lives/jobs/kids.

I agree it should never be expected or required, but I wonder if it was offered, although even so you'd have to wonder how freely the offer was made.

Update on Galip Ozturk (58yo man who had 9 kids and then decided to purchase 21 more)

8 Year prison sentence.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/turkish-bus-magnate-gets-8-year-sentence-in-georgia-on-drug-charges-1.1888596.amp.html

My suspicion is the whole thing was also a money laundering or tax evasion move.

Appallingly the mother rotates the nannies so the children have NO PRIMARY CARER.

Absolutely revolting.

Of course they shouldn't have. An older and unwell couple is the last place a child needing adoption should be placed.

This. Tragic and selfish all round

One of the worst things I've read, how awful. A famous Spanish woman went to the US and used her dead son's sperm and a surrogate to have a baby in her 60s. Absolutely horrific. There are no standards in the US.

My old boss in my first London job got a surrogate in the US for his kids. He was laughing when he showed me the catalogue of women you could choose from, he found it hilarious. Poor women just presented in a catalogue like cattle or a puppy, listing their CVs and physical characteristics. But he was gay so no one could say anything about the morality of it all because you'd obviously be homophobic if you objected (eye roll).

You really can buy anything in the US. Ain't capitalism grand...

😱