No verdict on Victor
St. Louis Cardinals football player Keith Wortman is wrestled to the ground
yesterday by Victor, a 600-pound, eight-foot long brown bear. The defanged,
declawed, and muzzled mammal displayed his talents before St. Louis County
Circuit Court Judge John Rickhoff after the Humane Society of Missouri
threatened to halt a show presented by Victor's owner, Adolphus Truesdell.
Four human volunteers, including Wortman, lost matches to the animal.
Truesdell was attempting to prove the bouts pose no harm to man or beast.
YOU CAN HAVE A CHILD-FOR $20,000:
"The co
from se
psychiatri
explained
treasurer
Unlikel
said there
Surrogates aid infertile couples
(Continued from Paget1 she told her husband. surrogate will be found. Donna Collum, president of the 16,000-
uples are allowed to choose She thought about the case with But what happens if a surrogate member Yesterday's Children, an
veral psychological and which she gave birth-and how much she won't give up her child after birth? organization of adopted adults and
i reports" on the surrogates, enjoyed it. She also pondered her life as Katie Brophy, who established the adopted parents, stated, "It's not a
d Karen Zena, secretary- an adopted child. At the urging of her Louisville corporation with Levin, said responsibility of a person to give a
of Levin's company. es husband, she contacted Keane, who that the court will probably not enforce baby to someone who can't have one."
Keane's arrangement, Zena arranged for the California and Texas the contract, so the surrogate would "In the past," she explained, "we
is complete anonymity bet- couples to meet each other. probably be able to keep the child. But would try to find homes for children.
ween the two parties at Surrogate
Parenting Associates. "This will take
away the possibilities that they will say
'I want to see what my child looks
like,"' she added.
THE NATIONAL prominence of
Keane drew the attention of Deborah
and Tom, who immediately called him.
At the same time, 1,000 miles away in
Amarillo, Texas, Carol Pavek, a 26-
year-old child psychology student and
mother of one, and her husband saw
Keane discuss his search for surrogate
mothers on a nationally-televised talk
show.
"That would be neat to do some day,"
The CONSER VA TOR Y
HAPPY HOUR
offers
Doubles for the
price of Singles.
Attuned to your good taste
M-Sat. 11-9 516 E. Liberty
994-5360 second Chnc
PAVEK AND HER husband flew to
California, and after the couples met,
she was enthusiastically accepted as a
surrogant mother. by Deborah and
Tom. With a needleless syringe, Pavek
inseminated herself, and is now five
weeks pregnant.
Keane drew up a "loosely-
constructed agreement" which calls for
Pavek to give up the child when it is
born. The baby, immediately after bir-
th, will be given to Deborah and Tom,
who will proceed through adoption
courts to gain legal custody of the child.
Although it would be illegal for Pavek
to accept any non-medically related
expense, she said she would never con-
sider being paid for carrying a child. "I
feel it's wrong," she said. "It would not
be a quality mother. It would be a
mother who needed a fast buck."
KEANE CHARGES $3,000 to help
locate a surrogate, although he tells the
couples he cannot guarantee that a
'Infertile married couple willing to pay fee to white,
single woman to bear child for them. Conception to
be achieved through artificial insemination supervised
by medical doctors. Child to be given to married
couple through adoption court. All expenses paid
plus fee. All responses confidential.'
-classified ad appearing in several
papers across the country
a
she added that if for some reason the
couple decided they didn't wish to take
the child, the court would probably for-
ce them totake it.
Keane explained there is a great
demand for surrogate-mothered babies
because of the lack of white babies
available for adoption. In addition,
surrogate-mothered babies will be in
the possession of the parents im-
mediately after birth, as opposed to
those babies adopted through the nor-
mal process.
NOT EVERYONE is happy with the
practice of surrogate motherhood.
Now we are trying to find children to
put in homes."
Collum added, "It's most amazing
that a woman will be pregnant and then
give the child up."
Yet Keane disagrees with this
assessment, and outlined three reasons
why surrogates volunteer their wombs.
First, he said, "an adopted girl might
want to return the favor." He added
that a friend or sister of an infertile
woman also might volunteer to be a
surrogate. Other volunteers include
those "who wanted the experience
because they said it was the happiest
times of theirlife."