Their twin newborns gurgle and bawl like any other baby. But unlike in other cases, the twins’ parents can neither hear the sound of their crying nor can they croon a lullaby to the infants. That’s because the parents, a gay couple from New York, are mute and hearing impaired.
The children - Sela and her brother Seth - were born on May 1 at Hiranandani Hospital, Powai, through a caesarean section to Alan Roth, 43 and Brian Blas, 46. They have been living as a couple for 16 years.
“It’s painful that, like other parents, we cannot hear the voices of our babies,” says Brian. “But we are very happy. And yes, we will take very good care of our babies.”
Globally, India is fast gaining a reputation as a destination for medical tourism, including for same-sex couples. “This is the first case of a speech and hearing impaired gay couple realising their dream of having children through a surrogate mother,” said Dr Gautam Allahbadia, an in-vitro fertilisation expert and medical director of Rutunda Clinic, Bandra.
The couple approached Dr Allahbadia in August last year. “To convey the medical report and technicality of the procedure, we used the services of a sign language interpreter.” They tried adoption, but legal formalities in the US do not permit a gay couple to adopt.
The mother is an unidentified Indian woman who donated her egg. It was subsequently transferred to a surrogate who delivered the babies on May 1. Dr Anita Soni, who delivered the twins at Hiranandani Hospital, said the babies were born premature due to some medical complication in the 34th week of pregnancy.
“That’s when we decided to go for a caesarean section,” said Dr Soni. “For a few days, the babies were kept in the neo-natal intensive care unit, but now both babies are fine, healthy and growing well.”