Less than one week after Spanish television actor Ana Obregón sparked criticism for welcoming a baby via surrogacy in the United States, Obregón has now said the infant is actually the daughter of her late son.
The 68-year-old actor told ¡Hola! magazine on 5 April that the baby was fathered by her son Aless Lequio García, who died from cancer in 2020 aged 27. “This girl isn’t my daughter, she’s my granddaughter,” she told the outlet. “This was Aless’s final wish, to bring a child of his own into the world.”
Prior to his death in 2020, doctors reportedly encouraged her son to preserve samples of his sperm before beginning cancer treatment, as he had expressed a desire before dying to have a child. The samples were frozen and stored in New York, she said.
On Wednesday, Obregón posed with her granddaughter – named Ana Sandra – for the cover of ¡Hola! magazine. The Spanish TV star revealed that the infant was conceived in June 2022 and born on 20 March 2023 in Miami, Florida. She will be registered at the Spanish consulate before they fly to Madrid.
In an Instagram post, Obregón shared a photo of the cover along with a message to her late son, Aless, in the caption. “My Aless, I swore I would save you from cancer and I failed you. I promised you I’d bring your daughter into the world and here she is in my arms,” she said, per Instagram’s translation.
“I swear I will take care of her with the infinite love I have to give and you will help me from heaven,” Obregón added. “You are the love of my life in heaven and your daughter is the love of my life on earth.”
Ana Obregón was the centre of a fierce debate last week when it was reported that she had welcomed a baby via surrogacy, which is prohibited in Spain. After the actor was pictured on the cover of ¡Hola! magazine with the newborn outside a Miami hospital, Obregón confirmed the baby news in an Instagram post on 29 March.
“A light full of love came into my darkness. I will never be alone again,” she captioned the post. “I AM ALIVE AGAIN.”
Initial reports about the baby quickly gained the attention of Spanish government officials, sparking criticism from the leftist coalition government who denounced surrogacy. Equality Minister Irene Montero of the leftist United We Can coalition partner said surrogate pregnancies were “a form of violence against women.”
“Surrogacy is a practice that is not legal in Spain,” she said, per The Guardian. “It is legally recognised in our country as a form of violence against women.”
Fellow left-wing politicians and members of Spain’s socialist party agreed that surrogacy is a women’s rights issue and a form of exploitation of women’s bodies. Presidency Minister Felix Bolaños told the BBC: “Women’s bodies should not be bought nor rented to satisfy anyone’s desires.”
In Spain, all forms of surrogacy – including “altruistic” surrogacy, where there is no exchange of money or compensation – are prohibited. Although the practice is illegal in Spain, people choose to go abroad to have children via surrogacy are not penalised and parentage after surrogacy is only recognised through legal adoption.
Earlier this year, Spain imposed tighter restrictions on surrogacy in a sweeping law that expanded abortion rights. The law classified surrogacy as a “form of reproductive violence” against women. Last year, the country also passed legislation to ban advertisements for surrogacy.
Additional reporting by the AP.
