A video celebrating the surrogacy journey of a gay couple, Logan Riley and Brandon Mitchell, took a controversial turn when it was revealed that one of the partners, Mitchell, is a registered child sex offender. The video, initially shared on their social media, documented the first year of their newborn son's life.
The narrative shifted drastically on July 27, when Irish political activist Derek Blighe reposted the footage, highlighting concerns over the child's future due to Mitchell's criminal past. The repost quickly went viral, amassing over one million views. Initially, the couple's identities were unknown, and Blighe's comments were interpreted by some as homophobic. Bev Jackson, co-founder of Alliance LGB, defended the couple, stressing the lack of evidence that the child would not thrive with two loving male parents. Another social media user echoed this sentiment in a response that received widespread support.
However, within a day, it was confirmed that Brandon Keith Mitchell, from Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania, had a history of sexual offenses. In 2016, Mitchell was convicted for soliciting explicit content from a 16-year-old male student while employed as a high school chemistry teacher. The police investigation uncovered a significant exchange of messages and explicit material between Mitchell and the student, leading to charges of possession of child pornography and corruption of minors.
After serving a brief prison sentence and being paroled, Mitchell was required to avoid unsupervised contact with minors and lost his teaching license. He later secured employment as a chemist and married Riley, a second-grade teacher. The couple's surrogacy campaign, which omitted Mitchell's criminal history, successfully culminated in the birth of a son, facilitated by a pre-birth parentage order.
Pennsylvania law, which restricts adoption and fostering rights for sex offenders, does not extend these prohibitions to surrogacy, allowing Mitchell to bypass the stringent background checks typically required for adoption. Questions have been raised about whether the surrogate was informed of Mitchell's background, as her identity remains private, and no statements have been made on her behalf.
Advocacy groups like Surrogacy Concern, represented by Helen Gibson, have expressed deep concern over the case, fearing it represents a broader issue with surrogacy laws. Gibson called for an investigation by local authorities and highlighted the lack of regulation that leaves children vulnerable in surrogacy arrangements.
The complexity of this case spotlights the differences between surrogacy and adoption laws, and the potential risks posed by the absence of background checks for intended parents in surrogacy. It raises questions about the balance between the desires of adults and the safety of children, prompting discussions on the need for reform in surrogacy practices.
