I've been following the bitter and downright weird surrogacy story that's been in the news of late. An Australian couple employed a surrogate in Thailand. Two babies were born, however one was disabled. The couple only took the non-disabled child. The couple now say they didn't know about the other child, and want him as well. The surrogate mother says they did know, asked her to abort the child, then later rejected the second child and so they are not having him. Over and above any moral issues around surrogacy, there are some very interesting legal issues. - Genetically, the surrogate is not the biological mother (it was a donor egg) - The Australian man is the biological father of both children, as his sperm was used. - The issue is further clouded by the fact the Australian man has a previous child sex abuse conviction. So who has parental (or any other) rights here? My guess is that - rightly or wrongly - as the only biological parent stepping forward, the Australian man has the right to the child here. But, do surrogacy rules and child protection rules change this?