A 68-year-old Spanish actress has revealed how she used her son’s DNA to create a surrogate baby – to fulfil his dying wish to have a child.
Ana Obregón said Aless Lequio García’s sperm was preserved before his death from cancer in 2020 – with the intention of conceiving a child with a surrogate mother.
The actress was not directly involved in the process, meaning the baby is genetically her grandchild.
“This girl is not my daughter, but rather my granddaughter,” Obregón told the Spanish magazine, ¡Hola!.
She said that, before starting treatment, he was encouraged by doctors to preserve samples of his sperm, which were kept in New York.
“It was Aless’ last wish to bring a child into the world,” she said.
¡Hola! reported the baby was conceived in June last year – when Aless would have turned 30 – and was born in March this year.
Obregón, who once featured in the hit US series, The A-Team, had already prompted controversy by revealing that she had used a surrogate mother to have a child.
Surrogate pregnancies are banned in Spain, although children from such pregnancies in other countries can be registered.
Leading politicians and some Spanish media outlets have referred to surrogacy as “womb renting”.
Equality Minister Irene Montero, of the left-wing United We Can coalition partner, has also described surrogate pregnancies as “a form of violence against women.”
However, Defence Minister Margarita Robles on Wednesday held off from criticizing Obregón, saying that while the law was clear in Spain, personal decisions should be respected.
The main opposition conservative Popular Party has said the notion of legalising such pregnancies if there’s no payment involved is open to debate