Fourty years after the inception of Roe v. Wade, a U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing a woman’s choice to have an abortion, a new wrinkle in the abortion debate has risen.
A woman hired to be a surrogate mother refused $10,000 to have an abortion after tests showed the child would be born with birth defects.
Crystal Kelley of Connecticut said that the parents of the unborn child were caring and attentive until a five-month ultrasound showed the baby had a cleft lip and palate, serious heart defects and a cyst on her brain. Kelley drove to Michigan seven-months pregnant, where according to state law she would be the baby’s legal mother. After giving birth to a baby girl, she was able to find a family willing to adopt her.
Although Kelley can personally justify her actions based on her religious moral compass, one thing is clear – she broke the law. Being deeply rooted in her religious values, she should have never agreed to become a surrogate, knowing that an issue like this could come up. It was clearly stated in a contract that identified her as a gestational surrogate, a woman who undergoes the embryo transfer process and then carries the baby to term. She has no biological connection and no legal right to the child in the state of Connecticut.
It is evident that Kelley misunderstood the context of what it means when said a woman has the right to choose. She completely went against the wishes of her “bosses” and kidnapped an unborn child and fled to another state. She should be in jail.
Many may commend Kelley for being pro-life and carrying the baby to term, but the decision only amplifies her self-centered attitude. She knowingly took the legal right to terminate the pregnancy away from the biological parents. While I understand she wanted to give the child a chance at life, which is commendable, the decision was not Kelley’s to make.
However, the biological parents are at fault as well. A clause in the adoption agreement allows them visitation as long as the father signed away his paternal rights. This couple is utterly disgusting and should not be allowed visitation for a child they opted to pay big money to terminate because she was not what they perceived to be normal.
What is sad is that people don’t realize that individuals are shaped by major life changes and the life they lead. This incident is a great reminder that being “normal” is so overrated.