Following the birth of her son, now 6, Sarah Jessica Parker found she had trouble conceiving. (If you believe the tabloid rumors, she also had trouble holding her marriage together.) But those are all concerns of the past, apparently, because Sarah and hubby Matthew Broderick are set to become the parents of twins with the help of a surrogate mother.

“We didn’t expect it,” she told Access Hollywood. “I think after a certain amount of time, you tend to hold your hopes at bay a bit so as not to be disappointed. One really would have been thrilling and we would’ve felt incredibly lucky. And two was a comedy!”

Sarah shared about the path that resulted in her decision to use a surrogate: “Well, you know, we’ve been trying to expand our family for a number of years and we actually have explored a variety of ways of doing so,” she said. “This was one of the things we discussed with seriousness that had real possibilities for us … it would be odd to have made this choice if I was able to, you know, have successful pregnancies since my son’s birth.”

Most concerning for Sarah right now is the way the paparazzi are treating her surrogate. “I am incredibly outraged by the sort of extraordinary and unprecedented invasion of her privacy,” Sarah Jessica said. “The most unsavory things have been done. She’s had her phone hacked, her personal computer information hacked, she’s had threats against her and true harassment … She’s had friends threatened and family threatened and she’s had family of friends threatened.”

A pregnant friend of the surrogate was also chased by the paparazzi, Sarah Jessica claims. “She’s had a friend who was thought to be her chased down a highway… This friend is nine months pregnant — chased down a highway by photographers and dare I call them ‘reporters.’ I guess that’s how they identify themselves,” she said. “It’s crossed lines… Pretty much all the lines have been crossed.”

As for the tabloid allegations that the surrogate has a “troubled” background, Sarah says that “I’m beyond comfortable with who she is. We haven’t been reckless, we haven’t been cavalier. She hasn’t been reckless…. Every single allegation that I know has been suggested about her is absolutely slander, and libel. It keeps me up every night. It’s really incredibly upsetting to think of her so far away and me not being able to do something, beyond what I’m legally allowed to do.”

Overall, I think this interview is fascinating because it puts a public and human face on pregnancies through a surrogate. I have so many fears about surrogate births. I cannot imagine carrying a baby inside of me for nine months and then being willing to hand its life over to someone else, to not be its mother. Even if that baby was created inside me, with none of my DNA, for the express purpose of delivering it to someone else to raise. It still feels like it would be physical and emotional hell for me. Don’t get me wrong — I am not at all suggesting that surrogate pregnancies are bad or shouldn’t be pursued as an option — but thinking of all the ways it could go horribly wrong, from an emotional standpoint, raises my blood pressure.

I’m glad to hear that Sarah found a way to expand her family, and I’m sure she and Matthew will be wonderful parents to the new twins, but I’m really interested to hear your thoughts on surrogate pregnancies. Would you be a surrogate? Would you use a surrogate? What does the law look like on these issues? Can the surrogate assert rights to the child after it’s born?

Get to talkin’, kids. I need to listen.

9 Responses to “Sarah Jessica Parker Says Photogs Are Hounding Surrogate Mother of Her Children”

1. thatLisa says:

   May 25, 2009 at 1:32 am

   some legal stuff:

   ” 26 states have laws that in some fashion address surrogacy. Five have actually seen fit to criminalize surrogacy. They are AZ, MI, NY, UT, WA, as well as DC. The other states have laws that say surrogate contracts are invalid, that set up elaborate mechanisms to approve contracts, or that regulate the payment of fees to surrogates.

   In the AI program, your lawyer goes to court before the child is born and obtains a court order saying that the husband (or single man) is the father of the child, and directing that his name go on the original birth certificate. After the child is born, the surrogate signs consent forms that either terminate her parental rights, leaving the man with sole custody of the child, or that allow the wife of the couple to adopt. That step-parent adoption generally takes place in the couple’s state, unless they reside in one of the states where surrogacy is illegal. In that case, that adoption can occur in another state.

   In the embryo transfer program, a similar pre-birth court order is obtained, except that this order says that the couple are the child’s biological parents, and their names go directly on the original birth certificate. No adoption is necessary since they are the biological parents. In either case, the couple (or individual) will take the child directly from the hospital back home with them.

   In the embryo transfer program with an egg donor, the pre-birth court order lists the father, and does not list a mother at all. After the child is born, the wife of the couple then adopts the child just as in the AI program. If there is no wife, then the surrogate’s parental rights are terminated leaving the male with sole custody”

   from http://www.surrogatemothers.com/issues.html

   Reply
2. mireee says:

   May 25, 2009 at 2:58 am

   I am not sure whether I would be a surrogate, but I am definitely for it. It is illegal in most countries of Europe, though, so it is not an option for most people in here.

   Reply
3. Luci says:

   May 25, 2009 at 3:48 am

   I don’t believe in surrogate
   if you can’t biologically conceive, then adopt

   Reply
   • thatLisa says:

     May 25, 2009 at 4:14 pm

     are you against fertility treatments too?

     Reply
   • Holycatfight says:

     May 25, 2009 at 11:03 pm

     Agreed. I often wonder if the children of surrogates can properly bond with the “adoptive” mother? I mean, doesn’t the birthing process create an automatic bond with the birth mother? I worry about the psychological consequences to the child. Does anyone know of any studies?

     Reply
     • Alzaetia says:

       June 24, 2009 at 11:24 am

       Do think adopted children in general don’t bond with their mothers?

       Reply
4. thatLisa says:

   May 25, 2009 at 4:14 pm

   I don’t really get why this is illegal anywhere? Is it mostly because so many legal issues can come up?

   I would never be a surrogate, because the thought of being pregnant sounds horrible to me. I think I’d rather adopt than use a surrogate, but I do understand people who want to use them.

   Reply
5. thatLisa says:

   May 25, 2009 at 8:00 pm

   I think it is sad and ridiculous that people are chasing down her surrogate. For what purpose? It’s not like someone will pay big bucks to see the lady who is pregnant with their twins. Who cares? I feel bad for her. Maybe they shouldn’t have announced that they were expecting until after the babies were born? But how could they have known?

   Reply
6. Sara says:

   June 24, 2009 at 10:37 am

   I think people are very close minded honestly! I would def use a surragate if i myself could not concieve as my husbabnd and I would like to have our own flesh and blood. I do believe it would be horrably wrong if people used a surragate for the purpose of the mother to be does not want to loose thier “figure” That would be wrong. As for adopting if you can and can stand going threw the process of the waiting game go for it. But i know three people who went threw the adoption agencies and it took about three years till they were selected then after they were picked to get a child it took another 6 months to a year

   Reply