Surrogate mother who changed her mind can keep the baby, judge rules

The welfare of the now six-month-old baby, known only as T, "requires her to remain with her mother", said Mr Justice Baker, giving reasons for a decision he made after a hearing in Birmingham last month.

He said: "In my judgment, there is a clear attachment between mother and daughter. To remove her from her mother's care would cause a measure of harm.

"It is the mother who, I find, is better able to meet T's needs, in particular her emotional needs."

The judge added that the risks of entering into a surrogacy agreement are "very considerable".

He said: "In particular, the natural process of carrying and giving birth to a baby creates an attachment which may be so strong that the surrogate mother finds herself unable to give up the child."

He said the mother met the couple, Mr and Mrs W, over the internet in 2009 and agreed informally that the mother would be inseminated by Mr W, and hand the baby over after the birth.

During the pregnancy, however, she changed her mind, and at T's birth refused to hand over the baby as agreed. The mother has two older children.

Mr W is a chef, and he and Mrs W were married in 2005.

After Mr and Mrs W were married, they tried to have a baby themselves, but their attempts resulted in a series of miscarriages, which led them to consider surrogacy.

The child was born on 16 July last year.