why in the world do these fellas have to set up shop in KY? Friggin' embarassin' I tell ya!!
LEXINGTON, Kentucky (AP) -- Two gay men are expecting to become parents of quadruplets after a surrogate mother gives birth in August.
Thomas Dysarz and Michael Meehan enlisted the help of a 23-year-old woman who agreed to help the domestic partners have a baby through in vitro fertilization.
''Raising children is the most important thing you can do,'' Meehan said.
Dysarz and Meehan said they want to keep the surrogate mother's identity secret. They said they fear stress from publicity might hurt her, the quadruplets, or her own three children, who include twin toddlers.
Growing Generations, a California company that works with gays and surrogate mothers, says there have been triplet births among the company's 200 clients, but no quadruplets.
Shirley Zager, director of the Illinois-based Organization of Parents through Surrogacy, said that to her knowledge, no quadruplets have been born to a surrogate and a gay man through in vitro fertilization.
Quadruplets are uncommon under any circumstances. In Kentucky, only 18 sets have been born since 1975, state records show.
The surrogate did authorize a spokeswoman for Central Baptist Hospital to confirm that she was pregnant with quadruplets conceived through in vitro fertilization.
Dysarz and Meehan said they're concerned that publicity will somehow interfere with their plans to become the best possible parents.
They said they know many people don't think gay men and lesbians should raise children. They also don't want their children to become the center of media attention.
Pursuing fatherhood
Meehan and Dysarz met in California in 1998. By 2000, they were busy building a hair-salon business, but their home seemed empty, and they decided to pursue fatherhood.
Last fall, a 23-year-old woman came into the salon with three children.
Dysarz thought the children were adorable. He kidded the woman about taking them home. Then he heard her say she felt as if she had been given a calling: to become a surrogate mother.
She agreed to help Meehan and Dysarz. Working through a Lexington fertility clinic, she became pregnant in January.
The men said they are following Kentucky law in paying her only for medical and living expenses. Those costs run $1,000 each month.
"Michael will be 'Dad,' because he's the biological father," Dysarz said. "I'll be 'Thomas.'"
Meehan and Dysarz said the surrogate mother has told them she doesn't want to be involved in raising the children on a regular basis. But the men said they will always let her know how the babies are doing.
LEXINGTON, Kentucky (AP) -- Two gay men are expecting to become parents of quadruplets after a surrogate mother gives birth in August.
Thomas Dysarz and Michael Meehan enlisted the help of a 23-year-old woman who agreed to help the domestic partners have a baby through in vitro fertilization.
''Raising children is the most important thing you can do,'' Meehan said.
Dysarz and Meehan said they want to keep the surrogate mother's identity secret. They said they fear stress from publicity might hurt her, the quadruplets, or her own three children, who include twin toddlers.
Growing Generations, a California company that works with gays and surrogate mothers, says there have been triplet births among the company's 200 clients, but no quadruplets.
Shirley Zager, director of the Illinois-based Organization of Parents through Surrogacy, said that to her knowledge, no quadruplets have been born to a surrogate and a gay man through in vitro fertilization.
Quadruplets are uncommon under any circumstances. In Kentucky, only 18 sets have been born since 1975, state records show.
The surrogate did authorize a spokeswoman for Central Baptist Hospital to confirm that she was pregnant with quadruplets conceived through in vitro fertilization.
Dysarz and Meehan said they're concerned that publicity will somehow interfere with their plans to become the best possible parents.
They said they know many people don't think gay men and lesbians should raise children. They also don't want their children to become the center of media attention.
Pursuing fatherhood
Meehan and Dysarz met in California in 1998. By 2000, they were busy building a hair-salon business, but their home seemed empty, and they decided to pursue fatherhood.
Last fall, a 23-year-old woman came into the salon with three children.
Dysarz thought the children were adorable. He kidded the woman about taking them home. Then he heard her say she felt as if she had been given a calling: to become a surrogate mother.
She agreed to help Meehan and Dysarz. Working through a Lexington fertility clinic, she became pregnant in January.
The men said they are following Kentucky law in paying her only for medical and living expenses. Those costs run $1,000 each month.
"Michael will be 'Dad,' because he's the biological father," Dysarz said. "I'll be 'Thomas.'"
Meehan and Dysarz said the surrogate mother has told them she doesn't want to be involved in raising the children on a regular basis. But the men said they will always let her know how the babies are doing.
