Michelle Reaves, a young American wife, and mother of two children, died tragically during childbirth. She was serving as a gestational surrogate for the second time for same couple.
The news of Michele’s death was spread by one of her friends who set up an online fundraiser for funeral expenses, on behalf of her widowed husband, and her children, who are now left motherless.
This event calls to mind two additional surrogate deaths. An Indian woman who was also married and the mother of two children, Premila Vaghela, died while acting as a surrogate for an American woman. And Brooke Browns, who served as a surrogate mother for a couple from Spain, died due to complications during pregnancy in the USA.
In December, the Court of Cassation ruled that children born abroad from surrogacy or ART from third-party donors may now have their foreign birth certificates recorded on French civil registry. This decision is equivalent to authorizing surrogacy, even though it is prohibited by French law.
