‘I always felt drawn to surrogacy’: The mother of three who carried a baby for two dads

Amit Yaron had thought about becoming a surrogate since she was 16; Years later, a WhatsApp message from a close friend connected her with Ron and Yonatan, a same-sex couple longing for a child, and led to a journey she says changed all their livesWhen Amit Yaron, 40, a social worker at the Joint Distribution Committee and mother of three from Hod Hasharon, was 16, she saw a television report about surrogacy. She had not known the option existed, but found herself glued to the screen. From that moment on, the thought of becoming a surrogate someday stayed with her.Then life happened. She met Aran, her partner, and after several years together they began building their own family. “The children were born relatively close together, and I didn’t have the space to even think about the idea,” she said. “But whenever it came up or crossed my mind, I remember telling myself that now wasn’t the time, and burying the thought again somewhere in the back of my mind.”GalleryAmit Yaron while carrying the baby as a surrogate. She would do it again if she could(Photo: Yasmin Berda Peer)Three years ago, one of her closest friends sent her a WhatsApp message and asked her to share it as widely as possible. “There was a photo attached to the message, and I recognized them immediately,” Yaron said. “It was her brother and his partner, who had posted a beautiful, moving call to find a surrogate. "I immediately forwarded the message and promised everywhere that they were an amazing couple, guaranteed, and that whoever went on this journey with them would definitely be lucky. But in reality, that message simply reignited that old thought inside me.”For several weeks, she wrestled with the idea. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe this time, it was the universe calling her. “I let those thoughts sit with me for quite a while, in my head and in my heart,” she said. “Usually I’m a very open person. I share things, I consult. My sisters, my mother, my friends are usually part of almost every thought and dilemma as soon as they emerge. But this time was different. I didn’t even tell Arani at first. I let the feelings rise and wanted to sit with them on my own.”What kind of thoughts?