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Anderson Cooper Talks About the Black Market Baby Scandal

October 26, 2011 By 6 Comments

This is not a new story since I’ve been reading about it since August, but this interview with scammed surrogate, Heather Albaugh gives some new insight to how it all happened.


It is still just really shocking to me that this occurred at all.  I’ve gotten over my surprise that my very own Attorney, Theresa Erickson was involved, but I still don’t understand how a surrogate could get herself into that predicament.

I have been asked many times by many people…”I want to be a surrogate, how do I start?“  I always send them to surrogacy message boards to start asking questions.  All any of these girls needed to do was ask the question, “gee…should I go overseas to get an embryo transfer without having intended parents?” and they would have gotten a resounding NO!

NO NO NO!!!!

I spent MONTHS trying to find the right IP’s.

Months.

The girl in the piece above is right about one thing…It is kind of like dating.  You place an ad.  But then you should exchange emails, pictures and family stories.  You talk and talk and then you decide if you want to help this family create a child.  It seems that she skipped this part.  This was the most important part for me.  Getting to know them.  I made friends for life during this “dating” period.

I feel so badly for the scammed surrogates, I really do.  But take this lesson if you are thinking of offering this amazing gift to someone else.  Do your homework.  Ask questions.  KNOW YOUR IP’S!!!

Filed Under: Surrogacy Tagged With: , ,
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When Surrogacy Lawyers Go Bad

August 10, 2011 By 21 Comments

Ya know, I’m not even sure how or where to start this post.  I have been reeling since last night with so many emotions.  I was happily watching America’s Got Talent when a commercial for the 11 o’clock news came on.  I wasn’t even paying that much attention but I hear “Prominent San Diego Attorney Guilty of Selling Babies .”

I glanced up and see MY surrogacy attorney on the TV.  Well that just has to be wrong, I misheard and Theresa must be consulting on the case or something.  I rewind.

Nope.  Not a mistake.  The attorney is Theresa Erickson.  My attorney for two surrogacy journeys plead guilty to selling babies.

OMGWTFBBQ??

I literally felt sick to my stomach.  This is a person I was friendly with.  She did all of my surrogacy contracts and my pre-birth orders.  She had agreed to write a guest post here on my blog (that never came to fruition) and I had hoped at one time to be a contributor to her Erickson Law Blog (no longer a live website).  She is my Facebook friend.  I adore and respect her Senior Paralegal who has helped me many times.  I admired and respected her and her position.  I really wanted to work for her agency helping other surrogates realize their dreams of helping parents create families.

Theresa was tall, beautiful and successful.  She helped many celebrities become parents (Elton John & Michael Jackson were named).  She was well respected in the Family Law and Surrogacy fields.  WHY would she jeopardize it all for this??

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that Theresa Erickson entered a guilty plea before United States Magistrate Judge William McCurine, Jr., in which she admitted to being part of a baby-selling ring that deceived the Superior Court of California and prospective parents for unborn babies.  {Continue reading at FBI.gov}

We work really hard trying to show the world that surrogacy is beautiful.  Surrogacy is not a bunch of poor exploited women selling their babies to the highest bidder.  Surrogacy is an amazingly life-changing event and one of the things I am most proud of in my life.  For Theresa to just go along being greedy and tainting something that I love dearly makes me angry.

So VERY angry!

I think I am so sad because of the disappointment.  I trusted Theresa (like so many other surrogates and intended families).  I trusted her with my surro-babes.  I trusted that she was a good person.

I am so disappointed.

Please if you are reading this and you are not familiar with surrogacy, please don’t let this person taint your opinion.  Read through my good surrogacy stories.  Surrogacy is life changing and beautiful.  To see families where there was no hope for one before surrogacy is one of the most amazing things ever.  We are not a bunch of baby-selling greedy assholes like Theresa Erickson.

I found this article interesting about the whole thing if you want to read more.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Current Events, Surrogacy Tagged With:
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I am SO very lucky to have been included in my surrogate baby’s first birthday celebration!

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My Surrogate Baby is One Today!

May 10, 2011 By 5 Comments

I know this week on my blog is full of birthdays and parties and well, that’s just the way I roll!  Yesterday was MY babies birthday and today it is Shannon’s baby’s birthday.  How awesome is that?

One year ago I delivered Baby J.  It just so happens that his family is in San Diego this week so I get to take a short drive down and spend his first birthday with his beautiful family.  I am so very excited about this!

Today is a little bittersweet for me.  I spent the previous 8 years or so (before this past year) either trying to get pregnant, being pregnant, or recovering from being pregnant (I made SEVEN babies in SIX years!).  This past year has been blissfully non-pregnant.  But now, after a year of not really thinking about it…I wonder.  Should I do another surrogacy?  It is such a wonderful thing and I miss it!  I can now understand how women do surrogacies many many times and I recognize the “surrogacy addiction” in me.

I’m sure Bob will just DIE when he reads this.

I can assure everyone, that while I miss being an active surrogate, I won’t be doing it again.  Instead, I will live vicariously through my friend Kathleen who is just beginning her first surrogacy journey.  I can’t wait to see what smiles she brings to her lovely intended family.  I can’t wait to see how much her life will change.

Happy Birthday Baby J!  I hope you bring many more beautiful smiles to your deserving family.

Filed Under: Surrogacy Tagged With: , ,
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Question: Do I Feel an Attachment To My Surrogate Children?

January 6, 2011 By 14 Comments

Yesterday I was bored so I opened up my blog to taking your questions.  If you can think of anything at all you want me to talk about or answer, leave me a comment and let me know.  It’s kinda fun to see your questions.  Anyhow, my friend Stefani from Mommy Enterprises asked the first one:

Okay, I have a good one!

Since you have been a surrogate mother, do you feel a bond still between the surrogate babies. I think it is so awesome that you have done this for others. It is definitely not something that I could ever do as I don’t really like being pregnant. I have been curious if there is still any attachment still there?

Short answer:  No, I have no attachment to the babies, I never have.

I am so very lucky because I get regular updates on the children from their families.  My picture for this post is new Christmas pictures of the triplets I delivered in 2007 and Baby J who was born this past May.  I receive the pictures, either text or email, and I think, “Oh my gosh!  What a CUTE kid!  I can’t believe how big they’ve gotten!”  But that’s really about it.  I love the pictures, I’m happy to see them.  But I don’t feel “love” or “attachment” to the children.  My heart doesn’t ache to hold them or anything like that.  Not at all.

I suppose it is a little like being an aunt.  I see my nieces and nephews, I love them, I care about them, but I certainly don’t want them or feel like they belong to me.

When you are pregnant with a surrogate baby, you feel protective.  I think anyone would feel protective of a baby that they were in charge of caring for, right?  Whether that be for a few hours or like a surrogate, for a few months.  But then you are happy to hand them over to their parents!

I feel the most happiness for the parents and the families that I helped create.  I care for my former “intended parents” a lot and I get joy from seeing their happiness.  That’s enough attachment for me.

Filed Under: Surrogacy Tagged With: ,
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