It’s barely March and Ana Obregón has starred in one of the stories that will surely be among the news of the year. The 68-year-old actress, presenter and producer gave birth to a surrogate mother. The baby is the biologist’s second child, after Álex Lequio, who was born of the relationship with Alessandro Lequio and who died of cancer in May 2020 at the age of 27. Hello! magazine, which comes out every Wednesday, pushed its cover ahead of the news late Tuesday. In the photo that illustrates the front page of the publication, Ana Obregón can be seen walking through the door of the medical center in Miami, Florida, holding the little girl.
As the headline of the report attached to the photo explains, a few days ago the artist went to the American city to pick up the girl and waited four days alone for the birth. The 18th was his 68th birthday. On the 20th the girl was born, and then the presenter was seen entering the center. On the 22nd, he walked with the little girl in his arms, who shares the same name as the presenter and her mother, Ana.
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At 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, more than 12 hours after the news was published, Obregón spoke the first words about it on his Instagram profile, where he has more than a million followers. In it he wrote the cover of Hello! (tag the post) and wrote a quick message: “We got caught! A light of love came into my darkness. I will never be alone again. I’ve lived again.” Accompany the text with two messages with tags, “Welcome to the world” and “I’m dying of love”. The place where he found the message: “Love”.
According to the magazine, the actress left the medical center, Memorial Regional Hospital in Miami, one of the largest in Florida, in a wheelchair, as protocol dictates, and that she was escorted to her car by a nurse He was walking with the girl. Hello! He explains that Obregón has rented an apartment with sea views to spend the first few days with the newborn and once he has completed all the legal steps he will return to Spain. Only her sisters Celia – who later said everyone is “in shock” – and Amalia, as well as her ex-partner and father of her son Alessandro Lequio, knew of this decision. Lequio explained on Wednesday on the show Ana Rosa, where he works, that he was aware of this decision but prefers to remain silent: “With all personal affection and the utmost professional respect, I hope you understand that it’s not me I will.” say nothing on the subject, not now, never.” EL PAÍS contacted him and also declined to comment.
The last five years have been the most difficult in Ana Obregón’s life. In early 2018 her son was diagnosed with cancer, which the family tried to cure in Spain and the United States, eventually dying in May 2020 amid a pandemic that left her practically alone to grieve. A year later, his mother, Ana María Obregón Navarro, died at the age of 95. Finally, last September he was also left without his father, businessman Antonio García Fernández, who died at the age of 96.
During those three tough years, Obregón took refuge in work. She returned to television presenting the Campanadas de Televisión Española, something she did in 2020 and 2022 (she couldn’t do 2021 because she was ill with Covid). In addition, he has participated in other programs such as Mask Singer and has begun to prepare a series about his life. Just a few weeks ago, he announced he would publish a book that his son couldn’t finish, and in early February he set up a foundation, named after his eldest son, with the aim of funding research into cancer.
The United States, where fertility laws depend on the states, is the country that has practiced surrogacy procedures (an illegal practice in Spain) for years, which can cost between 110,000 and 185,000 euros. The first were carried out in the 1980s. Most of the celebrities who have chosen this practice of becoming parents (from Kim and Khloé Kardashian to Miguel Bosé, the marriage of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas or soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo) have come to this country, not because it’s the safer destination, but also because it has the most permissive and robust legislation, as in the case of California (which has become one of the busiest states for this type of process). In Miami, for example, according to the specialist website surrogate.com, there are as many as six agencies that both help those who are trying to have a baby and help potential pregnant women with it; In addition, both parties must have their own attorneys from start to finish.
The US and Canada are some of the countries issuing a court ruling, later recognized by the Spanish authorities, To the newborn. The state of Florida considers the procedure to be completely legal. Acknowledgment of parentage in Spain is not automatic, but once initiated, a judicial process is followed through which a judgment is issued declaring the parents’ parentage. In 2010, the Spanish government approved an order allowing registration of these babies on the basis of the child’s “best interest”.
Unlike Canada, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia or the United Kingdom, the process and enforcement of a surrogate mother in Spain is illegal. This is set out in the Assisted Reproductive Technologies Act 2006. According to this decree, in Spain it is totally forbidden to carry out the process of surrogacy or surrogacy, since the legal affiliation of the minor is linked directly to birth and not through a genetic link. The Spanish government recognizes children born through surrogacy, based on an order approved in 2010 by the General Directorate of Registry Offices and Notaries, which is a legal option but is only valid for some cases: those in which there is a judicial decision on the information belonging in the country in which the procedure is being carried out. It is found in the United States and part of Canada.
In Florida, pregnant mothers must meet a number of requirements. They must pass a physical and mental health check that determines they are prepared for the process; In addition, they should not consume alcohol or drugs. You must be a permanent resident of the United States and cannot receive any government financial assistance. The pregnant woman’s age must be between 21 and 40 years of age, and she must have given birth “at least once without complications,” as required by Florida state law, and have had no more than three cesarean sections or five vaginal deliveries.
In Spain, adoption laws allow the adoption of a child between the ages of 25 and a maximum of 45 years. In addition, the age difference between parents and children must be greater than 16 years and a maximum of 40 years. Therefore , it would have been impossible for Obregón to adopt in Spain at the age of 68.
The day after the news broke, the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, assured that this was a “form of violence against women”. In the corridors of the House of Representatives, the head of the Treasury, María Jesús Montero, also denounced this, calling it “exploitation of women’s bodies”. PP spokesman in Congress Cuca Gamarra avoided commenting when asked about it. “It is a complex aspect that deserves deep and serene debates, since it involves many moral, ethical and religious issues, with many opinions from Spanish society”, in addition to involving children, “who have rights that must be guaranteed, ” he defined. Shortly after Gamarra, sources in the leadership of the PP said that the party was ready to open a “calm and serious” debate on the regulation of surrogate mothers in Spain, provided that in any case there would be no financial compensation.