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Judge gives custody of 3-year-old twins to woman who committed surrogacy fraud
MaryBeth Lewis, who committed surrogacy fraud to get her 14th and 15th children, has been awarded custody of the twins nearly three years later, despite being accused of fraud, never having lived with them, and having no biological relation to the twins.
At the age of 65, MaryBeth Lewis lied and forged her husband's signature to create two babies, using sperm and egg donors, who were born through a surrogate without his knowledge or consent.
She already had 13 children, many of whom were born through in vitro fertilization (IVF); their three youngest were not biologically related to Lewis or her husband.
When the twins were born, they were immediately placed into foster care, and Lewis faced felony charges of fraud.
After being raised by the same foster parents for almost three years, a judge has ruled the twins must be given to Lewis, who is not biologically related to the children.
A profile in the New York Times made MaryBeth Lewis' bizarre story nationwide news.
Lewis and her husband, an airline pilot named Bob, originally had five daughters together. But in her 40s and facing an empty nest, Lewis wanted more children. She used IVF and just weeks before turning 50, gave birth to twin girls in a delivery that almost killed her.
Yet she continued using IVF and having more babies until the number reached 10.
At first, her older children were delighted; they called themselves "The Originals" and doted on their siblings. “We could never be 100 percent sure she was done having kids,” Liz, her third daughter, told the New York Times. “Because she’d say she was done, and then she’d be like, ‘Surprise!’”
Her second daughter, Kristina, later died, which some say gave Lewis the urge to have more children again. Using donor sperm and eggs, she gave birth to three more children; her husband was rarely involved.
When she announced her 13th child, at the age of 62, 'The Originals' stopped feeling supportive.
“All of us were shocked,” said Isabelle, who was 12 at the time. “The younger ones were excited. Us older ones were like, ‘This is not going to end well.’”
Lewis acknowledged that Bob didn't want to keep having children, but used his agreement in creating multiple embryos years earlier as justification.
“He originally signed for all this stuff,” she said. “But he wasn’t thrilled, let me put it that way.”
In 2022, at the age of 65, Lewis wanted more children. She still had two embryos frozen, and Bob had recently retired. He explicitly told her he did not want more children, and said to have the embryos destroyed.
Instead, she forged his signature on a surrogacy contract that would cost over $100,000, and even pretended to be him in a Zoom hearing, in which she kept her camera off.
Skeptical, Judge Chauncey J. Watches ordered a home study and appointed a local lawyer and judge, David Coddington, as legal counsel for the preborn twins. Coddington urged that the Lewises be given custody of the twins, and Watches eventually agreed, signing an order giving them parental rights.
Once that order was mailed to their house, Bob finally learned that two more babies were coming. He called Lewis, screaming, "What did you do?"
Reading through the paperwork, he called the attorney Lewis had claimed was his, as well as Judge Watches, reporting his wife's fraudulent behavior.
“All of us were pissed, because we knew we couldn’t handle another child, let alone two," young Isabelle said.
The court then rescinded the parentage order for the Lewises, and said the twins would become wards of the state. As they were not biologically related to the Lewises, and the surrogate could not be considered the mother, the babies essentially had no parents.
“Baby A and Baby B have (or will have) no parents under New York law," said Scott Fiero, a lawyer for the Department of Social Services. “We can’t just have crimes committed with relation to the creation of life, and then have them get exactly what they wanted under that criminal conduct.”
The twins were placed in foster case, and the Lewises were barred from contacting them.
Brooks T. Baker, the district attorney, charged Lewis with 30 criminal counts, including forgery, falsifying business records, perjury, and attempted kidnapping.
Nearly two years later, the Lewises were recognized as the twins' legal parents, though they remained in the custody of the foster parents.
Lewis said she planned to change the nearly 3-year-old twins' names to ones she had chosen.
Earlier this month, Lewis accepted a plea deal which kept her out of prison, pleading guilty to three counts of attempt to offer for filing a false instrument in the first degree. She has a one-year conditional discharge and was required to pay $175 in mandatory surcharges, a $25 crime victims’ assistance fee, and a $50 DNA fee.
Several days later, the twins were taken from their foster family, the only parents they had ever known, with custody awarded to the Lewises. The foster parents, who had hoped to adopt them, said they are heartbroken.
“I want them to know that from the very first moment we saw them in the hospital, that we have never stopped loving and we’ve always wanted them,” the foster mother, who asked to be identified by the pseudonym Bri, told PEOPLE.
Her husband, who used the pseudonym Allan, added, “Our goal is to always unify our family, right? So, we miss them dearly, and we’re trying to find ways to do that.”
The couple said they were devastated by the ruling, and are looking into what options they have.
Having to be separated from the twins was difficult. Allan said:
“It was tough to make that handover, knowing that these children have no context for what they’re stepping into, right?
They don’t know why, they don’t know, but the two people they trusted most are just handing them over. So as a father, that’s excruciating.”
Bri added that the twins' feelings and desires were not being considered:
“They have their own identity, they have their own personality, they have their own voice. And it’s our opinion that, in the situation, they were not given a choice.”
This case is an extreme example of the problems with the fertility industry.
Nowhere were the needs of the children being created under consideration; it was about what MaryBeth Lewis wanted above all else. That was the case for all of the children conceived using donor materials, but especially so for the youngest twins.
These children, who are not her biological children, were separated from their surrogate and are now being separated from the only parents they have ever had — the ones they know as their mother and father.
It is a horrific tragedy, and the children will pay the highest price.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·Judge gives custody of 3-year-old twins to woman who committed surrogacy fraud
MaryBeth Lewis, who committed surrogacy fraud to get her 14th and 15th children, has been awarded custody of the twins nearly three years later, despite being accused of fraud, never having lived with them, and having no biological relation to the twins.
At the age of 65, MaryBeth Lewis lied and forged her husband's signature to create two babies, using sperm and egg donors, who were born through a surrogate without his knowledge or consent.
She already had 13 children, many of whom were born through in vitro fertilization (IVF); their three youngest were not biologically related to Lewis or her husband.
When the twins were born, they were immediately placed into foster care, and Lewis faced felony charges of fraud.
After being raised by the same foster parents for almost three years, a judge has ruled the twins must be given to Lewis, who is not biologically related to the children.
A profile in the New York Times made MaryBeth Lewis' bizarre story nationwide news.
Lewis and her husband, an airline pilot named Bob, originally had five daughters together. But in her 40s and facing an empty nest, Lewis wanted more children. She used IVF and just weeks before turning 50, gave birth to twin girls in a delivery that almost killed her.
Yet she continued using IVF and having more babies until the number reached 10.
At first, her older children were delighted; they called themselves "The Originals" and doted on their siblings. “We could never be 100 percent sure she was done having kids,” Liz, her third daughter, told the New York Times. “Because she’d say she was done, and then she’d be like, ‘Surprise!’”
Her second daughter, Kristina, later died, which some say gave Lewis the urge to have more children again. Using donor sperm and eggs, she gave birth to three more children; her husband was rarely involved.
When she announced her 13th child, at the age of 62, 'The Originals' stopped feeling supportive.
“All of us were shocked,” said Isabelle, who was 12 at the time. “The younger ones were excited. Us older ones were like, ‘This is not going to end well.’”
Lewis acknowledged that Bob didn't want to keep having children, but used his agreement in creating multiple embryos years earlier as justification.
“He originally signed for all this stuff,” she said. “But he wasn’t thrilled, let me put it that way.”
In 2022, at the age of 65, Lewis wanted more children. She still had two embryos frozen, and Bob had recently retired. He explicitly told her he did not want more children, and said to have the embryos destroyed.
Instead, she forged his signature on a surrogacy contract that would cost over $100,000, and even pretended to be him in a Zoom hearing, in which she kept her camera off.
Skeptical, Judge Chauncey J. Watches ordered a home study and appointed a local lawyer and judge, David Coddington, as legal counsel for the preborn twins. Coddington urged that the Lewises be given custody of the twins, and Watches eventually agreed, signing an order giving them parental rights.
Once that order was mailed to their house, Bob finally learned that two more babies were coming. He called Lewis, screaming, "What did you do?"
Reading through the paperwork, he called the attorney Lewis had claimed was his, as well as Judge Watches, reporting his wife's fraudulent behavior.
“All of us were pissed, because we knew we couldn’t handle another child, let alone two," young Isabelle said.
The court then rescinded the parentage order for the Lewises, and said the twins would become wards of the state. As they were not biologically related to the Lewises, and the surrogate could not be considered the mother, the babies essentially had no parents.
“Baby A and Baby B have (or will have) no parents under New York law," said Scott Fiero, a lawyer for the Department of Social Services. “We can’t just have crimes committed with relation to the creation of life, and then have them get exactly what they wanted under that criminal conduct.”
The twins were placed in foster case, and the Lewises were barred from contacting them.
Brooks T. Baker, the district attorney, charged Lewis with 30 criminal counts, including forgery, falsifying business records, perjury, and attempted kidnapping.
Nearly two years later, the Lewises were recognized as the twins' legal parents, though they remained in the custody of the foster parents.
Lewis said she planned to change the nearly 3-year-old twins' names to ones she had chosen.
Earlier this month, Lewis accepted a plea deal which kept her out of prison, pleading guilty to three counts of attempt to offer for filing a false instrument in the first degree. She has a one-year conditional discharge and was required to pay $175 in mandatory surcharges, a $25 crime victims’ assistance fee, and a $50 DNA fee.
Several days later, the twins were taken from their foster family, the only parents they had ever known, with custody awarded to the Lewises. The foster parents, who had hoped to adopt them, said they are heartbroken.
“I want them to know that from the very first moment we saw them in the hospital, that we have never stopped loving and we’ve always wanted them,” the foster mother, who asked to be identified by the pseudonym Bri, told PEOPLE.
Her husband, who used the pseudonym Allan, added, “Our goal is to always unify our family, right? So, we miss them dearly, and we’re trying to find ways to do that.”
The couple said they were devastated by the ruling, and are looking into what options they have.
Having to be separated from the twins was difficult. Allan said:
“It was tough to make that handover, knowing that these children have no context for what they’re stepping into, right?
They don’t know why, they don’t know, but the two people they trusted most are just handing them over. So as a father, that’s excruciating.”
Bri added that the twins' feelings and desires were not being considered:
“They have their own identity, they have their own personality, they have their own voice. And it’s our opinion that, in the situation, they were not given a choice.”
This case is an extreme example of the problems with the fertility industry.
Nowhere were the needs of the children being created under consideration; it was about what MaryBeth Lewis wanted above all else. That was the case for all of the children conceived using donor materials, but especially so for the youngest twins.
These children, who are not her biological children, were separated from their surrogate and are now being separated from the only parents they have ever had — the ones they know as their mother and father.
It is a horrific tragedy, and the children will pay the highest price.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Nancy Flanders
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·Fact Checks
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Nancy Flanders
·Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·Pop Culture
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·Fact Checks
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·