Parents Abandon Mentally Disabled Baby, Tell Surrogate Mom: “We Don’t Want a Dribbling Cabbage”

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 26, 2014   |   11:16AM   |   Washington, DC

After the worldwide storm over baby Gammy, a child with Down Syndrome whose parents abandoned him with the surrogate mother after he and his twin sister were born, another case of baby abandonment has cropped up.

Another surrogate mother of twin babies got word from the babies’ parents that they would abandon one of the children because of a disability. The baby was born with Congential Myotonic Dystrophy and rejected by the child’s parents. The birth mother is now raising the child as her own after the callous reaction.

Here’s more on what’s happened, warning for strong language:

gammyA British surrogate mother says she will raise a disabled girl as her own after the baby’s intended mother said she didn’t want a ‘dribbling cabbage’ as her child.

The child, born with Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy, was one of twins the surrogate mother was paid £12,000 in expenses to give birth to.

The story shows remarkable similarities to that of baby Gammy, a Down’s syndrome baby born to a Thai surrogate mother, who claimed he was left behind by its intended Australian parents because he was mentally disabled.

A British surrogate mother, who to protect her identity has only been named as Jenny, has now told The Sun of the callous way the parents of the girl she gave birth to with Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy reacted when they heard the news he was disabled.

The baby twin has been kept by the surrogate mother after its healthy brother was taken by the intended parents, who showed remarkable callousness in rejecting its sibling.
She told the paper: ‘I remember her saying to me, “She’d be a f****** dribbling cabbage. Who would want to adopt her?”

‘She had basically told me she didn’t want a disabled child.’

Jenny and her partner are now raising the child as their own, while the baby’s twin brother lives with the couple’s originally intended parents.

Leading pro-life bioethicist Wesley Smith responded to the situation.

“Why should we be surprised? Surrogacy and IVF are increasingly not about having a baby to love unconditionally, but having a baby the parents think worthy of love,” he said. “I hope the surrogate loves the child for life. But the biological parents should pay support!”

“And why should biological parents be treated by law any differently just because a surrogate was employed then if the woman gave birth herself?” Smith added. “In any event, shame on them.”