The bill provides that “unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the commonwealth, subject only to the laws and constitutions of Virginia and the United States, precedents of the United States Supreme Court, and provisions to the contrary in the statutes of the commonwealth.”

The Washington Post reports:

“Republicans, in control of both chambers for only the second time since the Civil War, are looking to pass a slew of bills in the 60-day session that take on abortion. They include banning the procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy, requiring that insurers that cover abortions also offer policies that do not, and giving rights to a fertilized egg at the moment of conception.”

Related Links:
GOP takes control of Virginia General Assembly >
Virginia Republicans push slew of conservative bills >

She has four children of her own, ages 2, 4, 6 and 8.

“All my pregnancies have been easy for me. I love being pregnant. I wanted to give a family to
someone who couldn’t have one otherwise,” Mathews said.
She found an agency online called the National Adoption and Surrogacy Center based in
Washington, D.C.

“I was introduced to several families and finally found one that just felt right to me,” Mathews
said.

Mathews chose to help a couple in Austria: Rudolf and Teresa Bako. They were in their 50s and
had been trying to have children for 20 years.

“I feel like they became my family. They adored me and I adored them,” Mathews said.

Mathews and the Bakos signed a contract, spelling out the terms: $25,000 just for carrying the
child.

“They would pay us $2,000 every month [to pay towards the $25,000]. They put the money in an
escrow account through the agency,” Mathews said.

The 30-plus page contract also took into account every possible scenario that could happen
during the pregnancy, as well as exactly when and how the Bakos would pay.

The National Adoption and Surrogacy Center then recommended a fertility doctor in Cyprus,
where they all met for the embryo transfer.

“They flew us out. They paid for the hotel, we were there for 17 days,” Mathews said.

Mathews became pregnant with twins, but quickly realized this pregnancy was going to be
different.

“The pregnancy did not go good. I could not keep anything down. I had severe swelling. I ended
up getting preeclampsia, which lead to HELLP Syndrome,” she said. (HELLP is an acronym for
Hemolytic anemia, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count.)

Because of all the complications, the Bakos doctor in Cyprus ordered Mathews to bed rest.

According to the contract: If ordered to bed rest “Gestational Carrier shall receive up to $250 per
week for housekeeping and child care.”

“There was never any question with anything about the payments. Ever,” Mathews said.

On July 21, Mathews gave birth to a boy and girl. The Bakos finally had their family.

But the problems for Mathews were far from over. Hours after the C-section, she was still
bleeding internally.

They said we need to take you in for surgery right away. I ended up getting eight bags of blood. I
was in surgery for three to five hours and while I was in the operating room, I had to be
resuscitated,” she said.

She spent 20 days in the hospital.

The Bakos took the babies back to Austria, while Mathews and her husband, Elbert, waited for
the rest of their money.

According to an email from Hilary Neiman, the National Adoption and Surrogacy Center’s
founder and attorney, the Bakos still owed Mathews $14,077.46.

But the Bakos were not responding to any questions about it.

“The agency called us and said they couldn’t get a hold of the parents, ‘Can you? We’ve tried
calling, we’ve tried emailing. Maybe you can say something to them.’ So I emailed them and said
the center is trying to get a hold of you, because at this point everything was good between us, at
least I thought so. After that, the center ended up contacting me and said [the Bakos] don’t feel
like they owe you any more money and that we were taking advantage of her generosity and felt
like we owed her money but said they weren’t going to ask us for it because of what I went
through,” Mathews said.

9NEWS has made several attempts to contact the Bakos in Austria. After several email attempts
with no response, we tried calling.

Rudolf Bako answered the phone at his place of business (he sells hardwood flooring in Vienna)
and said briefly, “My business is very bad at this moment. I cannot talk about what’s going on.”

He then gave us his home phone number and asked us to call later that day. When we tried, our
number was blocked.

Teresa Bako replied to the fifth email we sent her, stating that they’re working with their
attorney.

Another phone conversation with Rudolf Bako days later, again to his place of business, also
came up short. This time he claimed: “He doesn’t know what we’re talking about.”

9NEWS also emailed Neiman. She responded: “Due to confidentiality and the contracts that
were signed, I am not allowed to speak to the media.”

There may be another reason Neiman doesn’t want to talk.

According to court documents, in July, she pleaded guilty to wire fraud stemming from a large
baby-selling ring in the U.S. and Ukraine.

Investigators say between 2005 and 2011, Neiman and California reproductive law attorney
Theresa Erickson sent women to the Ukraine to be implanted with embryos.

Neiman then would offer the babies to aspiring parents for more than $100,000 each, telling
prospective buyers that a previous, and lawful, surrogacy arrangement had fallen apart.

Neiman’s website has since been shut down and the business phone numbers are disconnected.

Now the question is: What can Mathews do?

9NEWS asked Tom McNamara, an expert on contract and international law from Denver law
firm Davis Graham & Stubbs about Mathews’ choices.

“There are two main options. First is to start a lawsuit in Colorado. Obtain a judgment in
Colorado and enforce that in Austria. The second is to start a lawsuit in Austria. Unfortunately,
both of those options are going to be very, very difficult. There is no treaty between the U.S. and
Austria, and in addition, as a matter of Austrian law, surrogacy arraignments like this gestational
carrier agreement are determined to be illegal and unfortunately unenforceable in Austria,”
McNamara said.

To add to it, because surrogacy is illegal in Austria, unless a formal adoption proceeding was
done in the United States, the twins will never be citizens of Austria.

“I didn’t go into this to make a profit. I just wanted to help a family. I am slightly regretful but I
brought two beautiful babies into the world and gave a family to someone. Perhaps I chose the
wrong family. I thought they were right in the beginning, but maybe they weren’t. However, I try
not to think about the finances. I’m OK with knowing they have a family now,” Mathews said.

The Mathews still have not received the $14,000 they claim they are owed and on top of it all.
They just received a hospital bill amounting to $217,000 and are unsure what will be covered by
insurance.

As stated in the contract, Mathews provides her insurance and whatever her insurance doesn’t
pay, the Bakos have to pay.

Mathews says the Bakos, to date, have paid her about $66,000: $16,000 of the $25,000 for
carrying the children and the rest mainly from child care and bed rest costs during her pregnancy.

Mathews and her husband say because of the health complications and money they had to pay
out of their own pocket, they’re now having serious financial issues.

The Mathews are still waiting to hear from the Bakos regarding the babies.

Neiman will be sentenced in December. She faces up to five years in prison.

“Adoption Attorney Colleen Quinn explains how the state’s decision to re-open public commentary on gay adoption could impact it.” – from the WTVR website.

Click here to view the video!

Video re-posted from WTVR.com

Check out more Babay Eleanor and comment here!

Law and Government: Colleen Marea Quinn

•Director and equity owner of Locke Partin DeBoer & Quinn

•Founder and director of the Women’s Injury Law Center and the Adoption and Surrogacy Law Center.

•Worked to change adoption law in Virginia by overhauling all adoption statues to bring Virginia in line with other states.

YWCA of Richmond 2011 Outstanding Woman of the Year

Colleen Marea Quinn, Esq.

Locke Partin DeBoer & Quinn

4928 West Broad Street

Richmond, VA 23230

804-545-9406

804-545-9411 (fax)

quinn@lockepartin.com

http://www.reproductionattorney.com

Here’s a sample of what’s in the presentation:

Tip No. 1: Have a Comprehensive Employee Handbook

Tip No. 2: Have a Drug Testing Policy

Tip No. 3: Do a Reputable and Thorough Background Check

Tip No. 4: Have a No Weapons Policy

and much much more…

Click Here to Download this Presentation as a PDF ->

Ten Thrifty Employment Tips

Recognizing and Eliminating Sexual Harassment

Comments and guidelines for a congenial workplace

by Colleen M. Quinn

Click Here To Download/View  -> Recognizing and Eliminating Sexual Harassment

Traps and Pitfalls in Handling Immunity Cases

by Colleen M. Quinn

Click Here To Download/View  -> Traps and Pitfalls in Handling Immunity Cases

Injury Case Intake – a primer on preserving and gathering the evidence

by Colleen M. Quinn

Click Here To Download/View  -> Injury Case Intake

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