A Canadian same-sex couple is suing an Ontario surrogate after carrying their son to term. Once doctors detected a possible heart defect and cleft lip, the couple demanded that she abort the child. 

The relationship between the surrogate and the couple started off well, but rapidly declined in June 2024, when she refused requests to terminate the pregnancy when a 22 week ultrasound revealed minor health defects. She received a missive from the couple that left her devastated, reading: 

“Considering that medical tests indicate that the fetus has, or is likely to have, a genetic, chromosomal or other abnormality or defect, and in accordance with article 8.5 (a) of our surrogacy agreement … we want to inform you of our wish that the pregnancy be terminated.”

The surrogate stated she would have agreed to an abortion had the child’s likelihood of survival been minimal. However, the surrogate explained she would not abort the fetus for what she considered to be largely cosmetic reasons. 

After the abortion was refused, the parents agreed to proceed with the pregnancy, with doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital saying the baby was generally healthy and had no major problems beyond the cleft lip. 

However, tensions continued to escalate when the surrogate insisted on a home birth performed by midwives instead of going to a hospital, as the parents requested. During delivery, the baby had breathing difficulties, but recovered after being given oxygen and taken to the hospital in an ambulance after the birth. 

After receiving treatment, the baby was taken by the parents, who ceased contact with the mother. She later asked the couple to reimburse her $10,000 in outstanding expenses, lost wages, transportation costs, and skipped contributions to her pension plan. Canadian surrogates are only reimbursed for expenses incurred in bringing the pregnancy to term, unlike in America, where mothers can exceed $100,000 in payment.

However, the couple ignored her, leading her to take them to small-claims court, where she discovered that the contract required arbitration to settle such disputes, limiting that route. Then, she was hit with her own lawsuit.

According to the suit filed in Ontario Superior Court in May, the couple claimed that the surrogate did not “adequately keep them informed about the baby’s health, put the child at risk, violated confidentiality and caused them emotional distress,” and sought damages on those grounds.

The couple is reportedly seeking around $600,000 from the mother, who has responded by saying:

“You know I’m a single mom, you know I have a daughter, and you’re basically suing me for my house. It seems very s—ty, it’s just awful … I just feel used … They didn’t get the perfect child they wanted and they threw me away.”

The situation has gone viral and sparked controversy online, as some are calling for the couple to lose custody immediately and should not receive a dime from the mother. Others question whether it is in the best interest of the child to be raised in that environment and how it will affect him when he later learns that his own parents did not actually want him.