1st Edition

A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy Intended Fathers

By Jerry Bigner, Michael Menichiello Copyright 2006
    160 Pages
    by Routledge

    160 Pages
    by Routledge

    A deeply personal account of the trials and tribulations of the surrogacy journey!

    Surrogacy’s been coldly and unjustifiably called “baby buying” and “baby selling” and many states have banned it. But those insensitive terms do not tell the inspiring tale of a couple fiercely wanting to become parents. A Gay Couple’s Experience with Surrogacy: Intended Fathers is the moving true story of a gay couple’s decision to have their child through a surrogate mother. With humor and emotion, the author traces their intense experience from the initial decision to have a child through surrogacy on through the entire pregnancy and birth.

    A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy chronicles this couple’s no-holds-barred account of the emotional toll, the legal matters, the financial concerns, and the ultimate fulfillment of parenting a child.

    A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy reveals the author’s answers to these questions:

    • why surrogacy over adoption?
    • which type of surrogacy—traditional or gestational?
    • what were the issues when choosing a surrogate?
    • how much does surrogacy cost?
    • what living expenses are included in the cost?
    • what are the emotional and financial reasons that surrogates choose to bear another’s child?
    • what are the pitfalls in choosing surrogacy?
    • what are the legal issues—what to beware and what to consider

    An excerpt:

    Before I knew it, I was writing an ad of my own, and I actually posted it. David, of course, had no idea what I was up to. The ad read:

    “We’re a gay couple in New York that just celebrated our fourteenth anniversary and we’ve decided to extend our family. We’re looking for someone close by and even have a separate apartment available if needed.”

    Nice, huh? Could it be just a little bit more. . . vague? Could my ad have lacked a little more personality? Sure, have our baby and move right in while you’re doing it! Who the hell would respond to that? I wasn’t even sure after reading it myself that it made any sense. But what should I have said? What could I have said? I scrambled to find a way to delete it, but couldn’t.


    A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy is a touching memoir that reveals the challenges that face gay and lesbian couples who may be considering either adoption or surrogacy.

    • Preface
    • Acknowledgments
    • 1. Baby Talk
    • 2. Getting Started
    • 3. Mike, David, Michelle, and FedEx Make Three?
    • 4. Not Quite Pregnant
    • 5. Conception Nevada
    • 6. Ultrasound Effects
    • 7. Last-Minute Complications
    • 8. It’s a Girl!
    • 9. Life with Lilly
    • Index
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    Michael Menichiello