Mother who gave birth to her own brother and sister:

Mother who gave birth to her own brother and sister: An extraordinary story raising profound questions about surrogacy and the future of the family. 

One woman ‘Ellen Bown’  gave birth to all three of the children in the picture. But only Maddy is her ‘official’ daughter. When it comes to Alex and Ruth, Ellen acted as a surrogate for her own mother, Jenny. Ellen used her own eggs, fertilised with her stepfather Tony’s sperm. So, biologically, twins Alex and Ruth are teenager Maddy’s half-brother and half-sister. But legally having been adopted by Ellen’s mother Jenny and stepfather Tony a week after their birth  they are now her aunt and uncle.

Which brings with it another mind-boggling twist. To the twins, Ellen Bown is both their biological mother and their legal half-sister. Meanwhile, Jenny and Tony are their biological grandparents but legal parents. To say it’s an unconventional and complicated set-up would be an understatement but it certainly isn’t unique.

Such stories have understandably sparked debate. Some have labelled these very modern interpretations of the family unethical, and have questioned the robustness of our surrogacy and fertility laws. But Ellen Bown and her mother Jenny Dias insist there is nothing perturbing about their situation . . . well, apart from the perplexing issue of what on earth they all call each other.

What on earth will you call this? Drop a comment.


culled: dailymail