Wicklow’s mother Mia McCarthy, who recently welcomed her first child through surrogacy, says she and her husband were forced to go through Irish courts just so he could have guardianship of their baby.
Speaking at a protest at Dáil today, she told RSVP Live: “Ten years have passed between the process of IVF failure, pregnancies, miscarriages… Finally, we have was fortunate enough to go through the surrogacy process to get our baby girl, â€she mentioned.
“She was born in Kiev, a little less than two months earlier. I was hospitalized with her for five weeks and due to Covid my husband was not allowed in and I was not allowed to leave. We were there for a total of 7 weeks.
After such a difficult time, Mia said she should have been allowed to bond with her baby without having to worry about her parental rights.
“The idea is that you squat down and you can enjoy your time with your baby, but there are all these additional complications that you have to deal with,†she explained.
“We had to go to the High Court for my husband to get Mia’s guardianship. There are all these extra layers that people don’t realize and you’re still at the mercy of the system.
A mum from Dublin also shared her frustration at not being recognized as the mother of her baby girl.
Ruth Dungan and her husband Nigel welcomed their first child Lottie through surrogacy in January this year, but Ruth will have to live with Lottie for two years before she can apply for legal guardianship of her daughter.
She told RSVP Live: “We got Lottie via a surrogate mother in Ukraine, where we were recognized as her parents on the birth certificate.
“Then when we got home a few days later we were no longer Lottie’s parents under Irish law.
“I have to live with Lottie for two years before I can apply for guardianship of my own daughter, which is just completely crazy. She’s my daughter, we feed her, we get up in the middle of the night with her, we buy her clothes.
“She is not the equal of other children in Ireland. That is why we are here today, we want them to be protected and have the same rights.
