A San Jose couple is in limbo as they remain trapped in Mexico
waiting for permission to return home with their newborn son, Grayson.
After learning that
they would not be able to conceive a child naturally, Haseeb and Christy Amireh
located several surrogacy agencies in Tabasco, Mexico, that would help them to
realize their dream of parenting.
The couple traveled
from San Jose, Calif., to Mexico to be with their surrogate mother as she delivered
their newborn son but their plans were altered when they learned that they
could not leave the country because their son would not be issued a birth
certificate.
"It seemed like time just kept passing and the next
day and the next day and next day and no birth certificate, and we started
panicking," Christy said, in a statement to KPIX.
The governor in
Tabasco has placed a moratorium on all birth certificates for surrogate
families, preventing the Amirehs from applying for a passport for their son.
"There are
still agencies taking ... intended parents, like us, so we'd like to get the
word out," Haseeb said.
The couple is
working with a lawyer in Mexico, and they have been in contact with the U.S.
State Department.
U.S. Rep. Eric
Swalwell, D-California said, "This just highlights why it's really
important to understand the laws of any country that you're traveling to [in
order] to make a health care decision."
"We just want
to get home," Christy told KPIX via Skype.