Thursday 30 May 2019

Surrogacy Update | The Final Chapter

As mentioned in my most recent surrogacy update, we were awaiting our final court date regarding the Parental Order. As predicted, this did get postponed; from what we gathered, CAFCASS were not made aware of the hearing in enough time to conduct their checks. 

We were also asked to provide our statements two days beforehand, whereas we were initially informed that CAFCASS would take these from us. Myself and my IPs had to provide these statements to the court, outlining why surrogacy was chosen, how everyone felt and if there were any concerns.
Our final hearing was postponed to the 29th of April and our appointed CAFCASS officer got in touch with us to arrange visits for the end of March; he actually visited us a few hours after my eldest's birthday party and got roped into playing with her new ponies. 
Our officer was lovely and asked a good few questions in order for him to draw up his report. He asked about why I wanted to go into surrogacy and how it came about me being a surrogate for my IPs. He also spoke to my husband, who would also be giving up his parental rights, to ensure that he was happy with everything that had gone on and that I was treated well by my IPs. Another question which was asked was if we had any concerns with the IPs parenting abilities which we didn't - both of them are naturals with kids and have been for years with ours. 
At the court hearing, the judge advised us that, after receiving statements and reports from all parties, that she was more than happy to allow the parental order to be granted. As silly as it sounds, I have never felt more relieved than what I was when I heard her say that. Being legally responsible for a child that isn't yours is hard; you never know when you may get a phone call asking for consent to be provided. Of course I would never not give consent, but it's still not something I should have to give as I am not the child's parent.
Hopefully the laws will soon change to allow for the parental orders to be processed before the birth of the child! 
I can finally say that, now the order has been granted, the final chapter has now closed and this is the end of my surrogacy journey. However, it more than likely won't be the only journey I will have! 
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