
Couples who are looking to start a family later in life have several options to choose from, including adoption, surrogacy, and in vitro fertilization. Marty and Melinda Rangers were in their 40s when they decided they wanted to start a family.
After lots of research and consideration, the couple decided that they wanted to have a child via surrogate. While everything seemed to be going well at first, Marty and Melinda eventually caught their surrogate drinking alcohol.
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The couple found the surrogate with the help of a surrogacy agency.
For couples who wish to have a child via surrogate, it’s typical to meet with a surrogacy agency. The agency can help find a surrogate and assist with legal contracts, notes the Cleveland Clinic. Marty and Melinda took this approach. A surrogacy agency in California matched them with a young woman who “seemed reliable,” the couple explained to the Daily Mail.
Marty, Melinda, and the surrogate signed a contract.
After completing the necessary tests and screenings, the couple and their surrogate signed a comprehensive legal document that outlined rules the surrogate had to follow. These rules included not consuming alcohol or drugs while pregnant, not leaving the country, and not having any new sexual partners without approval.
The restrictions are meant to keep the baby safe and healthy. For the first few months of the pregnancy, everything seemed to be going smoothly, the couple explained to the publication.
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A few months into the pregnancy, the couple caught the surrogate drinking alcohol.

Marty and Melinda regularly checked in with their surrogate to make sure everything was going well. They told the Daily Mail they spoke to her on the phone bi-weekly. Melinda also kept tabs on the surrogate by looking at the content she posted on social media. Nearly four months into the pregnancy, Melinda discovered something alarming on the surrogate’s Instagram. In a video she was tagged in, she appeared to be taking a tequila shot.
They decided to confront the surrogate about the video.
When confronted about the video, the couple’s surrogate denied taking a tequila shot — she was simply drinking water, she claimed. But the couple didn’t believe her. “It was a complete shock for us and when we confronted her about it, she said it was water that she was drinking but there was something about her reaction that left me unconvinced,” Marty told the Daily Mail.
Because they could no longer trust their surrogate, the couple made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy.
After seeing the video of their surrogate drinking alcohol, the couple felt that “the trust had been broken” and they “were unsure what else this woman was capable of,” they told the publication. This lack of trust led to them making a difficult decision: “we decided the best thing to do would be to terminate our baby at 20 weeks.”
The couple said that the surrogate respected their decision, and they ultimately agreed to a termination without involving the agency. Marty said he and his wife “ensured the surrogate was well compensated.”
Though they decided to terminate the pregnancy, they didn't give up on surrogacy.

Despite their negative experience, the couple still wanted to start a family — and they still opted to have children via surrogacy. After selecting a different agency, the couple welcomed a healthy baby girl via surrogate. Later, they welcomed a second child via surrogate and described the experience as “magical.”