A surrogate mother from Texas said she refused to abort a baby suffering a heart defect after his biological parents told her to do so.
Stephanie Levesque, who has been a surrogate mother three times, gave birth to a baby just days before Christmas on Dec. 21, 2017, at the Medical City Women’s Hospital in Dallas.
Doctors had told her weeks prior that the child suffered from a severe heart defect, prompting the biological parents to demand that she abort the child due to the risk. Levesque said it runs counter to her beliefs and refused to go through with it.
Levesque said the confrontation with the parents caused her to reach out to lawmakers to revise surrogacy laws in the state. She wants protection for biological parents and their surrogates.
Levesque said that when Dec. 21 arrived, hospital staff took the baby boy moments after birth. She said to this day, she doesn’t know his name or whether he is healthy.
“I don’t know his name. I don’t know how much he weighed. I don’t know if they chose to do surgery,” she told the station. “I assume they immediately took him to the NICU, but I do not know, I do not know.”
WFAA reported that one day after the birth, the boy’s parents, who were not identified, agreed to give the boy the immediate medical care he required.
“I had always done it with the excitement of making people parents,” she said. “I mean, I could not wait to hand those babies over and see them become parents after thinking they never would. But I had to kind of change my mindset and say, OK ... this is for him now.”
In two previous surrogate pregnancies, Levesque said she delivered healthy babies. She remains close friends with the two other couples. “It’s the most beautiful gift you can ever give,” Levesque, a realtor and mother of two, said of the experience.
“I was given a voice for a reason, I was given a platform for a reason and because of all the heartache that I have experienced, I know my story’s not over, because I cannot end on heartache,” she added.
“I absolutely think if we can get some laws changed, everyone wins, everyone will benefit from that,” she said. “I one hundred and ten percent believe in surrogacy. It is my passion,” the mom added. “I definitely do not want my story to discourage people from being surrogates.”
A Year Later
Last week, on Dec. 21, she went on Facebook to thank friends, family, and others for their support a year after her ordeal, the Daily Mail reported.“First of all, thank you all SO MUCH for the support I’ve received throughout the last year,” she wrote. “Today is a hard one, and I can’t explain how much it means to feel like I’m being wrapped up in a huge hug by all my friends and family. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!”
The woman then spoke about the boy under the pseudonym Luca.
“In honor of Luca’s 1st birthday (Major shout-out to my brother-in-law, Kyle, who named my sweet surro-baby. (Kyle actually named him Luca prior to me being asked to abort.) Luca means ‘bringer of light,’” she wrote. “And how unbelievably appropriate is it that his mere existence is bringing light to so many issues?!? Amazing, right??)”
