Japanese mother of boy born by surrogacy calls it 'dream come true'+

TOKYO, Nov. 25 Kyodo -
The mother of a boy born through host surrogacy, a practice that remains
controversial in Japan without legal authorization, expressed her joy Wednesday
and called the experience ''a dream come true.''
''My long-time dream has finally come true,'' the 27-year-old woman said at a
press conference in Tokyo, where her 53-year-old mother who gave birth to the
boy for her daughter was also present.
''It was incredible when I saw the baby (in the womb) using ultrasound-echo
equipment in the hospital,'' said the woman, who had a tumor in her womb
removed when she was 16 months old.
In September last year, a fertile egg was implanted into her mother and the boy
was born in May. Since the boy is registered as the birth mother's child at
present, efforts are under way to register him as an adopted child of his
biological parents.
The issue of host surrogacy is controversial in Japan and babies born using the
practice are usually registered as adopted children of their biological
parents.
The Science Council of Japan has effectively banned the practice of host
surrogacy in a report issued in April last year, but left some room for women
with a problem in their wombs to have a baby through surrogacy under
supervision by public authorities. But no progress has been made since then in
debates on the issue.
Yahiro Netsu, head of Suwa Maternity Clinic in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture,
where the baby was born, said he intends to set up an organization designed to
urge the government to develop a legal system that would reflect the wishes of
women in similar situations.
==Kyodo
2009-11-25 23:01:10