Ana Obregón, on the edge of the law: the experts speak

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Two Wednesdays ago, the news of Ana Obregon Being a mother by surrogacy at the age of 68 opened up endless debates. A Wednesday later, the ball became even more entangled when the actress herself confirmed, exclusively, that she was not her biological daughter, but hers. Aless Lequiowho died on May 13, 2020. The presenter, however, is her legal mother (at the moment in the United States, where the girl was born).

Law experts have commented these days on television and on social networks about what happened, clarifying whether Ana would face legal problems when registering the creature in our country.

Read also: “Ana Obregón has sold a life and destroyed a girl’s privacy,” according to Javier Urra

The Valencian magistrate and jurist Joaquim Bosch Grau wrote on Twitter: “Is it possible for a person to be both the mother and grandmother of a minor? Can the sperm of someone who has died be used freely? The controversy over Ana Obregón presents new legal and ethical problems. Let’s see them “, advanced in a thread that has become viral.

He recalled that the practice of surrogates is not legal in Spain: “The Supreme Court has repeatedly indicated that hiring surrogates is a variant of the sale of children, which leads to treating minors as objects and merchandise and pregnant mothers, taking advantage of their vulnerability”.

And he added: “However, there are people with sufficient economic capacity who carry out the contract in a country where it is regulated. Then they try to register the minor in Spain. Ana Obregón has indicated that she is the genetic grandmother and that she intends to be the registered mother “.

Anonymous and famous people like Miguel Bosé have had no problems registering their children born by surrogacy, but he insists that Obregón’s case could be different: “The usual way for registration is a 2010 Instruction, which allows us to overcome the contradiction between the legal systems of Spain and other countries.It has been said that, as has been done by Miguel Bosé and other people, Ana Obregón could also follow it (…) On the other hand, the case of Ana Obregón is very different, because she has not provided her own genetic material, but that of her son. An action of biological affiliation could not prosper in her favor, so it would not fit into the foundation of the Instruction”.

In addition, he stressed: “There are cases in which the initial registration has not been admitted and the jurisprudence has referred the situation to the path of adoption. But here is another problem: Ana Obregón is the grandmother of the minor. And the Civil Code prohibits a grandmother from being the adoptive mother of her granddaughter”.

However, it maintains that Obregón could resort to other alternatives when registering her: “The best interests of the minor must take precedence over other legitimate interests. Therefore, if the registration of Ana Obregón as a mother is not accepted, mechanisms could be activated guardianships and that she be appointed guardian, if it is proven that she is the most suitable person”.

Bosch also puts an important piece of information on the table: “On the other hand, the use made of the sperm of the deceased child is not allowed in our legislation, although it is in others. Here its use is only regulated for the fertilization of the wife or partner of the deceased, within one year after death, as a general rule”.

More experts speak

The television gatherings have resorted these days to experts in the field. It is a complex issue that, for more than obvious reasons, has transcended the pink chronicle. The surrogacy debate has been reopened in the political arena. The age of the actress, 68 years old, and her psychological state after the death of her biological son three years ago have completed the debates.

Nuria Terribasa lawyer specializing in bioethics and biolaw, explained in Ana Rosa’s program: “I see it as very difficult for the registration procedure for this girl to be carried out in Spain unless it is skipping some other procedure and an exception is made in her case.” In addition, the fact that Obregón herself has exposed her granddaughter on the cover of the magazine Hola can play against him: “Given the media commotion that has occurred, I don’t know if this can benefit him or harm him.”

Read also – Ana Obregón in black and white: the unusual truth of a crime story that seems like a pink chronicle

Lawyer Juan Manuel Medina He also expressed: “She can be considered the mother for legal purposes because she has a US sentence that recognizes her that way. In Spain after the age of 45 you are not allowed to adopt. Technically she can be the legal guardian, little more. Of course, this move It is not something that this lady has developed one day while having breakfast, this is a play that is very well advised by lawyers who know the intricacies very well. It is a dribble, what she does is a dribble to the law to obtain the wish ” .

Alfonso of the SourceDirector of the European Fertility Institute, spoke of people who freeze their sperm or eggs before undergoing harsh cancer treatments, which can lead to loss of fertility: “People who normally freeze reproductive material do so with the idea that they are going to survive this medical situation. In fact, in most cases, if death occurs, what is proceeded is the destruction of this material”.

On whether it is legal to use the semen of a deceased person for these purposes, the Mediaset program collected: “In Italy and Germany postmortem fertilization is prohibited. In Germany it can even be punished with three years in prison. On the opposite side, they position themselves United Kingdom, Netherlands, Greece and Portugal. There are four known cases to date: Russia, United Kingdom in 2015, India, USA. In none of the four cases did the grandparents reach 68 years of age.”