Thirty-two year old Bozena K., who offered herself as a surrogate mother, did not want to give up the child but feared a court battle and gave in.

This is the first such case in Poland where a surrogate mother has ‘rented out’ her womb and found that, after nine months, she did not want to give up the child she carried.

The couple who paid Bozena K. for carrying a child for them were required to threaten legal action unless she give up her rights to the baby.

“Probably, [the mother] would get the child back because, from a legal point of view, she is the mother. If a man, who ‘rented’ her is the child’s biological father, then there would be a true court case over custody of the newborn,” Judge Robert Zagadla from the Warsaw District Courts told the daily Dziennik when asked about Bozena K.’s chances of winning the court case.

In Poland it is not illegal to hire a surrogate mother when one is incapable of conceiving normally because Poland has not ratified European law on bioethics which bans the practice. (mmj)