After Surrogacy Agency Vanishes, Gay Dads Stranded in Mexico With Newborns

Two fathers from New Zealand are currently stuck in Mexico with their three newborn children after their surrogacy agency apparently disappeared, BuzzFeed reports.

David and Nicky Beard, a married couple from Auckland, New Zealand, recently traveled to Mexico for the birth of their children, Lachlan, Kelly and Blake. The newborns have been dubbed "triplings" because they were born from two different surrogate mothers in Mexico but were all conceived with the same sperm and eggs. The Daily Mail reports the babies are the first "triplings" ever to be born.

The couple said their surrogacy agency representative vanished when the couple arrived in Mexico. Also gone are the payments they made to cover medical and legal costs. BuzzFeed reports the men had to repay the fees as well as costs for aftercare of the surrogate mothers. Additionally, Lachlan was born prematurely and experienced medical complications, which bumped the fathers' hospital bill to around $74,771 USD. Thankfully, Lachlan has made a full recovery, the Daily Mail reports.

Due to the exorbitant costs, the Beards are now stranded across the globe and don't have the money to return to New Zealand with their newborns.

"We'd paid everything in New Zealand up front before we left. We had $40,000 in the bank to get us home, which is ample," David Beard told TV NZ, according to BuzzFeed. "We've got two days left paid at our hotel. We're desperate. We need airfares to Mexico City, we need to pay for passports, our baggage is huge."

BuzzFeed reports Mexico recently banned international surrogacy for same-sex couples but the anti-gay law doesn't effect the Beards as the mothers were already pregnant when the measure was enacted. The men were told they would be able to return home with their children. Nevertheless, the dads have hired a lawyer to help them get home.

The New Zealand government is aware of the couple's situation and offered advice to them:

"[International surrogacy cases] can be highly complicated, involving other countries' laws and procedures and involve a high degree of uncertainty," said Paula Attrill, director of international casework in the NZ Ministry of Social Development. "The children are Mexican citizens. They require Mexican passports to travel. They also require exit visas from Mexico and cannot travel without a passport or the required visas. These matters can take some time to work through."

Attrill added that the Ministry of Social Development will be able to help the fathers when they return to New Zealand and submit an application to adopt the newborns via the country's family court.

According to the Daily Mail, the Mexican government said the men would be allowed to take their children out of the country but the process is moving slowly.

In addition to the New Zealand government, the Beards' friends are helping the couple get back home. Grace Nixon has launched a fundraising page to raise money to help the dads get back home.

"The problem now is that they are stranded in this third world country with little or no finances left and another month or so of bureaucracy to get through," Nixon wrote. "They also have an internal flight and accommodation requirements not to mention the hundreds of nappies. They have been getting great support from family and friends but we can only help so much."

Nixon spoke with the Daily Mail Australia about her friends' situation.

"No one could have predicted that any of this was going to happen and that they were going to be left abandoned by the agency, it's such a shame," she said. "Both Nicky and David are being so strong throughout it all for each other, though, and their beautiful little babies."

The page has an "open goal" and as of this writing has earned just over $14,000. Click here to donate.