The gay couple that caused an uproar
when they became the UK's first surrogate gay dads say they are
expecting a fourth child, the UK's Mail Online reported.
Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow received
international attention in 1999 when they traveled to the United
States and participated in the IVF procedure that produced twins
Aspen and Saffron.
The couple became fathers for the third
time four years later with the birth of Orlando.
“I am really looking forward to
Father's Day this year,” Barrie, 40, said.
“We had the pregnancy confirmed and
we are going to find out today whether it's a singleton or whether
it's a twin pregnancy. We know we are pregnant but we don't know how
many yet. The baby is due on Valentine's Day.”
The Chelmsford, Essex couple drew
controversy when they became the first gay couple to be jointly named
fathers on their children's birth certificates after a lengthy legal
battle decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The pair, who became
millionaires in 1998 when they sold their clinical research company,
entered into a civil partnership in 2006, soon after returning to
Britain from living in Spain.
The gay dads attempted to adopt a child
before they investigated surrogacy, but despite glowing references by
their social workers they were denied twice.
Barrie told the paper that the new
baby's egg donor was a Japanese woman from San Francisco, and they
were using the same surrogate mother who gave birth to Orlando.
The Drewitt-Barlows, who have been
accused of designing babies with past pregnancies, said they left the
sex of the baby to chance.