Couple Says Surrogate Mother Is Stealing Their Baby
Posted: 4:07 pm EDT May 23, 2007Updated: 5:32 pm EDT May 23, 2007
OVIEDO, Fla. -- An Oviedo couple said they're being extorted and defrauded by a surrogate mother. The couple hired a woman from Jacksonville to have their baby, but now, they said, she's refusing to give up the baby and is even asking for child support.
VOTE: Who Should Get Custody Of The Baby?
The Oviedo couple already has one child through a surrogate mother. In that case, everything went perfectly. This time, they tried a different surrogate and said she is trying to steal their baby.The couple believes the baby was born last week, but they can't get any concrete answers. They are taking the issue to court as a crib sits empty and the couple waits for the baby they said their surrogate mom stole from them.The room, decorated in Tinkerbell theme, is awaiting the arrival of the Lamintina's little girl. They were set to name her Rochelle Amber. Now they don't know if they'll ever get to hold her."My biggest fear is we may not be able to bring her home. That's what's so hard," said Gwyn Lamintina.
She said they had such a wonderful experience having a surrogate for their first child, TJ, that they looked forward to the process again, but she and her husband Tom said it has been awful."I just hope and I pray everything will work out alright," Tom said.The surrogate mother, Stephanie Eckard, lives in Jacksonville. At her home, someone inside would only say there was no comment. Then a note was taped on the door: 'No comment. Contact my attorney Kelly Hanson.' So Eyewitness News did."Under the laws of the state of Florida, surrogacy is like adoption. The surrogate mom has the option to keep the baby," Hanson said.That's something the Lamintina's attorney disputes."Is she asking for child support?" WFTV reporter Cynthia Demos asked Hanson."I'm not going to answer that," Hanson said."We didn't think anyone would be that low to scam someone with a baby out of money," Tom said.The DNA test proves that there is a 99.9999 percent chance Tom is the father. The egg is from the surrogate mother. The surrogate did cash the $1,500 deposit, which the Lamintina's hope will work in their favor.However, there is one major sticking point. The surrogate never signed the "surrogacy contract." The Lamintina's said they never checked, because they trusted her. They said they will not give up on until they have their baby girl home.The Lamintina's said they found Eckard on a surrogacy site online. All the lawsuits have been filed in Jacksonville in the Duval County courthouse and the Lamintina's are hoping they will get their Rochelle home by the time she's one.
VOTE: Who Should Get Custody Of The Baby?The Oviedo couple already has one child through a surrogate mother. In that case, everything went perfectly. This time, they tried a different surrogate and said she is trying to steal their baby.The couple believes the baby was born last week, but they can't get any concrete answers. They are taking the issue to court as a crib sits empty and the couple waits for the baby they said their surrogate mom stole from them.The room, decorated in Tinkerbell theme, is awaiting the arrival of the Lamintina's little girl. They were set to name her Rochelle Amber. Now they don't know if they'll ever get to hold her."My biggest fear is we may not be able to bring her home. That's what's so hard," said Gwyn Lamintina.
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