Surrogate Mom Gave Birth to Baby with Birth Defects Even after Baby's Parents Ordered an Abortion

Surrogate mom, Crystal Kelley, gave meaning to motherhood after she gave birth to a baby girl with birth defects, even after she was ordered by her parent to abort the baby. She said, "She's everything I believed she would be."

Kelley met the parents in 2011. She said, according to Yahoo News, that when she saw the couple in their home, together with their three children, she felt an "immediate connection." She got the impression that the couple is very loving towards their children, hence, in the event that she would agree to be the surrogate mom, she is somewhat assured that the child she's carrying will end up in the arms of great parents.  

Her expectations proved to be short-lived. After having accepted the surrogacy and several 3D ultrasounds, the parents wanted her to abort the baby due to detected birth defects. Based on the ultrasound, there was a huge possibility that the baby would suffer from a possible heart defect. In addition, a cleft lip was found, and the stomach of the fetus could not be located.

The mother called Kelley up and ordered an abortion on the ground that the surrogacy contract which Kelley signed allowed the parents to have the baby aborted anytime in case a birth defect is seen. Having carried the baby for several weeks already, the surrogate mom adamantly said no even in the face of giving birth to a baby with birth defects. Hence, she was left on her own.

According to Inquisitr, even though the surrogate mom was given by the parents $10,000 to abort the baby, she vehemently refused. From then on, she was on her own. Kelley said, "Once I realized that I was going to be the only person really fighting for her, that mama bear instinct kicked in, and there was no way I was giving up without a fight."

Since Connecticut laws do not confer any parental right to her as a surrogate mother, she was forced to move to Michigan so that the child will not end up in foster care after birth. Fate was still good to Kelley as one of her friends had a friend who adopted two children with disabilities. She then asked if the latter would adopt another, and they said "yes."

On June 25, 2012, the baby was born. Today, the baby is a healthy three-year old, doing what normal kids do. Kelley said, "It's pretty vindicating, I guess, because everyone else wanted to give up on her." The surrogate mom, recalling the days that she was told to abort the baby because of birth defects further said, "She's always been a fighter. She was feisty even when I was pregnant with her."