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THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016
Sause: µ,t was always my intention to be a biological mother¶
attorneys argues that in the con-
tract prepared by Schnitzer¶s
attorney Schnitzer renounced
any involvement with any
female “offspring´ but that
Sause made no such concession
about a son. Barton says Sause
acknowledged Schnitzer¶s sole
custody of a male baby — but
did not renounce either her par-
entage or visitation rights.
Schnitzer whose attorneys
are preparing to ¿le a response
to Sause says her claims are
without merit.
Schnitzer says Sause never
expressed interest in being a
mother genetic or otherwise
before the baby was born.
“Cory said µ,¶m not a
breeder. ,¶m not sure , want
kids¶´ he recalls. “She signed
away her rights to everything.´
Continued from Page 8A
He had his sperm com-
bined with anonymous donor
eJJs twice 7he ¿rst time
6chnit]er says the surroJate
did not become pregnant and
the second time the surrogate
miscarried.
He says he and Sause talked
about his desire to have a son.
He says she was eager to help.
³&ory said over and over µ,
took a liIe and , want to help
create a liIe¶´ Schnit]er recalls.
Sause decided she¶d allow
her eggs to be mixed with
Schnit]er¶s sperm. ³, agreed
given our budding relation-
ship and my own decision to
have my eggs retrieved to cre-
ate embryos with Schnit]er´
Sause wrote.
Genetic testing
A test developed in the early
1990s allows prospective par-
ents to screen embryos for
genetic disorders. 8sing the test
called pre-implantation genetic
diagnosis to determine the sex
of the child is controversial.
,t¶s illegal in some countries
to choose the sex of the child
when not medically necessary.
,n the 8.S. where it¶s legal par-
ents who want to choose the sex
of their baby have found their
way to fertility clinics to get
PGD testing.
Sause¶s legal ¿ling says she
and Schnitzer used PGD and
screened the embryos to choose
males for a surrogate pregnancy.
“(Schnitzer) told me that he
only wanted a male heir and
wanted to attempt pregnancies
with as many male embryos
as possible´ Sause wrote. “,
agreed that [he] could take pos-
session of the male embryos and
implant as many as he wanted in
the surrogates of his choosing.
“, did not want the female
embryos to be destroyed´ she
wrote “so , agreed to take pos-
session of the female embryos
and (Schnitzer) would relin-
quish all rights to any female
offspring produced from those
embryos since he did not want
any more female children.´
Determining gender
For many parents pursuing
surrogacy the prospect of hav-
ing a healthy child is enough.
But Sause says Schnitzer
told her he was only interested
in a boy and wanted to eliminate
any potential confusion by doc-
umenting that goal.
,n -une 01 Schnitzer¶s
attorney -eff 1udelman
emailed Sause a contract out-
lining the terms of the proposed
pregnancy.
The contract language
emphasized Schnitzer wanted
nothing to do with a baby
girl. Here¶s how the contract
expressed it:
“Schnitzer hereby relin-
quishes any claim to or jurisdic-
tion over any female embryos
from Sause and any resulting
female offspring.´
Sause renounced rights to
any male embryo but not any
male offspring in that contract.
That meant her attorneys now
claim she was acknowledging
Schnitzer would have custody
of their son but she could still
be the boy¶s genetic mother and
enjoy visitation rights.
The contract speci¿ed that
no money would change hands
between Schnitzer and Sause.
Both prospective parents also
agreed to con¿dentiality.
“1either party will be
involved in the preparation of
any article story video ¿lm or
book regarding the other party
or family members´ the con-
tract said.
The pregnancy
,n 01 2HS8 fertility con-
sultants helped Schnitzer and
Sause ¿nd a Spring¿eld couple
&assondra and &harles Gibeaut
who were willing to serve as
surrogates.
2n April 9 01 doctors at
2HS8 Fertility &onsultants in
Portland performed an embryo
transfer to Cassondra Gibeaut.
,n her court ¿lings Sause
quoted from text messages she
says Schnitzer sent her as the
pregnancy progressed.
“9ery soon we will know
whether you are going to be a
mom´ Schnitzer texted Sause
in early 0ay. “This is our baby.´
“Cassie says everything is
¿ne with your baby´ Schnitzer
texted Sause on 0ay 1 01.
“:e are having a baby´
Schnitzer wrote on Aug.
01. “Do you realize that"´
But as the due date
approached Schitzer and
What next?
Submitted Photo
Cory Sause wants to be legally recognized as the mother of Jordan Schnitzer’s son.
Sause¶s relationship cooled.
“During the summer of
01 , was pulling away from
the romantic relationship with
(Schnitzer)´ Sause wrote. “He
had encouraged me to marry
him and/or move in with him
so we could raise the child
together. However , did not
want to marry Mr. Schnitzer or
share a life with him.´
The birth
2n Dec. the boy
Schnitzer wanted was born.
The birth took place in Linn
County near the surrogate par-
ents¶ home.
“(Schnitzer) noti¿ed me of
the birth and , visited my son in
the hospital in Albany´ Sause
wrote.
She says she was thrilled
to meet the boy she thought of
as her son. But her happiness
would be short-lived.
That same day Dec.
Schnitzer ¿led a petition in
Multnomah County Circuit
Court saying he was the baby¶s
sole parent.
People who employ surro-
gates routinely go to court to
¿le declarations of parentage
even before the birth to establish
their custody and that the surro-
gate parents have no claim to the
child.
,n Schnitzer¶s case how-
ever he went further by omit-
ting in court ¿lings that Sause
played any role in the baby¶s
creation.
“The embryos were created
with -ordan Director Schnitzer¶s
sperm and donor eggs which
were the exclusive property of
(Schnitzer)´ he said in the court
¿ling. “,t is in the best interests
of (the baby) that the child¶s
birth records and birth certi¿-
cate accurately reÀect the child¶s
genetic and intended parentage
to the fullest extent possible.´
‘Shocked’
Sause says when she
learned that her name wasn¶t
on the birth certi¿cate she was
“shocked´ and further dis-
mayed that Schnitzer went to
court and obtained a judgment
certifying that he was the sole
genetic parent.
,n her court ¿lings Sause
challenges the court¶s Dec. 9
¿nding that Schnitzer is the
boy¶s sole genetic parent.
“,t was always my inten-
tion to be the biological mother
of any child that resulted from
our embryos´ Sause said in a
March declaration. “, am the
biological mother.´
When she learned she was
not allowed visitation rights
Sause ¿rst tried to communi-
cate with Schnitzer and then
his attorney. Those talks went
nowhere.
The goal of Sause¶s court
¿lings March is to force
Schnitzer to appear in court
April . ,n court she hopes to
establish her right to visit the
boy and to be designated on his
birth certi¿cate as his mother.
Bob Barton one of Sause¶s
,n his quest to create a son in
his image -ordan Schnitzer has
used cutting-edge science and
his ¿nancial resources to guar-
antee the result he sought. But
in his desire to be a father again
Schnitzer may have reached the
limits of what money can do.
The son he wanted so badly
was born into a legal dispute.
And even if Schnitzer wins that
dispute his son will be a boy
who has everything — except a
mother.
Darnovsky of the Center
for Genetics and Society says
adults need to remember that
children are not commodities
to be chosen for their gender or
other genetic attributes.
“What if this boy grows up
to have no interest in real estate
or his father¶s other pursuits"´
she says. “What then"´
WW staff writer Rachel
Monahan contributed reporting
to this story.
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