61-Year-Old Mom Gives Birth to Her Gay Son's Child Via Surrogacy

When a gay Nebraskan couple sought reproductive assistance, their family stepped in.

Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

March 29 2019 5:12 PM EST

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A 61-year-old Nebraskan mother acted as a surrogate for her gay son and his husband and gave birth to their baby girl (her granddaughter) Uma on Monday, according to BuzzFeed News.

When husbands Matthew Eledge, 32, and Elliot Dougherty, 29, were searching for a surrogate to carry their child, Eledge's mother, Cecile Eledge, offered to do so. Meanwhile, Dougherty's 25-year-old sister, Lea Yribe, offered to donate her eggs, which were fertilized with Matthew Eledge's sperm.

The couple welcomed the help of family in light of antigay discrimination Matthew Eledge had faced at his job. In 2015, he was fired from his job as an English teacher at a private Catholic school in Omaha after he informed school officials that he intended to marry Dougherty.

In vitro fertilization was costly for the couple and insurance wouldn't cover it. In all, Matthew Eledge estimates they spent $40,000 on IVF.

"That's literally the cheapest it could have been," he told BuzzFeed, considering that every egg retrieval can cost about $12,000.

"I do think it's sad that IVF as a process is exclusive to those who can afford it," Matthew Eledge continued. "For queer couples, it's a particular challenge."

Following a medical exam proving that Cecile Eledge could viably carry the child, the husbands moved forward with the process.