Judge Urged to Bar Surrogate Mom’s Visits : Guardian Asks Judge to Give Baby M to Dad

The court-appointed guardian of “Baby M” asked a judge today to award the infant to her father and to deny visitation rights to the surrogate mother hired to bear the child.

Lorraine Abraham, a lawyer appointed to represent Baby M’s interests, said three experts--a sociologist, a psychologist and a psychiatrist--recommended that custody of Baby M go to William Stern and his wife, Elizabeth.

The experts also suggested that visitation rights for natural mother Mary Beth Whitehead be canceled unless she receives counseling, Abraham said in opening statements in the second phase of the surrogate motherhood trial.

Abraham’s recommendation is not binding but is expected to influence Superior Court Judge Harvey Sorkow, who is presiding over the landmark trial.

Sorkow must decide whether Whitehead can legally back out of the $10,000 contract in which she agreed to give the baby to the Sterns. He must also determine which family can best raise “Baby M.” The custody issue is the focus of the second phase of the trial, which opened Monday after a two-week recess.

Whitehead, 29, of Brick Township, N.J., was artificially inseminated by William Stern and gave birth to Baby M on March 27.