Spanish television actress Ana Obregón has revealed that the baby she announced last week via surrogacy in the United States was fathered by her late son, Aless Lequio, who died of cancer at age 27 in 2020. Speaking to ¡Hola! magazine from Miami, the 68-year-old star said, “This girl isn't my daughter, she's my granddaughter.”
Obregón explained that the surrogacy was her son’s final wish. “This was Aless's final wish, to bring a child of his own into the world,” she said, recounting a conversation a week before his death. A sample of his sperm was frozen and stored in New York. The surrogate mother, who carried the baby, is reported to be a woman of Cuban origin living in Florida.
The initial announcement of Obregón’s surrogacy sparked anger from Spain’s left-wing government, with Equality Minister Irene Montero condemning the practice as “a form of violence against women.” Surrogacy is illegal in Spain, but adopting a child born abroad through the practice is lawful. Obregón dismissed the controversy as “absurd,” noting that surrogacy is legal in much of the world.
The baby, named Ana Sandra, will be registered at the Spanish consulate before the pair fly to Madrid. Obregón has not ruled out providing her granddaughter with a sibling. While she is legally the baby’s mother, ethical questions have been raised under Spain’s civil code, which prohibits adoption of a descendant by a grandparent.
Social philosophy commentator Gonzalo Velasco told Cadena SER that while the act may not be illegal, it raises ethical issues. “Ana Obregón has taken it upon herself to interpret her dead son's wishes and that is going too far,” he said. “No child is ever the property of his parents and neither is a dead child.” Aless Lequio’s father, Alessandro Lequio, has declined to comment.
