A surrogate mother from California unknowingly gave birth to a biological son in a rare medical incident, called "superfetation." After realizing that the child was her very own, Jessica Allen sought to bring him back in a long legal battle.
Jessica Allen Undergoes Gestational Surrogacy
Jessica Allen, a 31-year-old mother of two from California, decided to undergo a gestational surrogacy so that she could save up enough money for a new home with her 34 year-old husband, Wardell Jasper.
A gestational surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman agrees to carry and deliver a baby for another person or couple. At that time, a Chinese couple was looking for an American surrogate and Ms. Allen happened to be a match.
In exchange for a monthly payment of $30,000, Ms. Allen agreed to carry and deliver a baby for the couple. She underwent In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and was later informed by her doctors that she was carrying identical twin baby boys. This made the Chinese couple very happy so they decided to offer Ms. Allen a $5,000 increase.
However, after conceiving the two baby boys, Ms. Allen said she noticed from a picture that the two baby boys did not look identical. She noticed that one of the boys resembled an Asian, while the other had a mixed appearance of an African-American and a Caucasian.
DNA Test Results
After about a month later, Ms. Allen decided to conduct a DNA test, which showed that one of the baby boys was indeed her biological son. The rare medical incident is known as "superfetation".
Superfetation
Superfetation occurs when a pregnant woman becomes pregnant for a second time with another younger fetus. It is characteized by the implantation of an oocyte in an uterus that already contains another embryo or fetus from a previous conception.
Legal Battle
After Ms. Allen realized that one of the two boys was her biological son, she decided to take him back since he was still legally under the responsibility of the couple who hired her. However, the couple did not want to keep the child as their own and demanded Ms. Allen for compensation.
"I was heartbroken knowing I carried a baby I didn't know was mine and that he was taken from me without my knowledge and was in the arms of other people where he did not belong," Ms. Allen told The Independent.
Finally, the incident was brought to court and it was decided that Ms. Allen could keep her biological son without any compensation on her part.
