Parental Fitness of Surrogate Is Questioned : Hearing: An ex-roommate says the woman fed her 3-year-old daughter junk food and failed to keep her clean.

Raising questions about the parental fitness of surrogate mother Anna L. Johnson, her former roommate testified Tuesday that Johnson fed her 3-year-old daughter junk food dinners, did not wash her enough and frequently yelled at the child and locked her in her room.

Sara Duran, who shared her rented Garden Grove home with Johnson from April until September, testified on the fifth day of a hearing to determine whether Johnson, a 29-year-old single mother, should be considered a legal parent of the month-old boy she bore for an infertile couple.

Duran was called as a witness for Mark and Crispina Calvert, who hired Johnson as a surrogate for $10,000. Mark Calvert also testified, saying Johnson threatened to deliver the baby at five months’ gestation and instructed the Calverts to prepare her final payment.

Duran said she was worried about 3-year-old Erica’s welfare because Johnson didn’t take good care of her.

“I was concerned about Erica’s eating because all she would eat, Erica, was McDonald’s, Burger King, doughnuts for dinner,” Duran said. “She would eat gummy bears, candies for dinner. I have heard Erica say: ‘Mommy, I’m hungry.’ ”

Questioned by the infant’s court-appointed lawyer, Harold F. LaFlamme, Duran said she became even more worried when Johnson told her that she was going to file suit to keep the test-tube child she was carrying for the Calverts.

“She was cruel to the child in a lot of her words, wasn’t she, and used a lot of bad words?” LaFlamme asked.

“Yes,” Duran said.

“So you were concerned when she started talking about keeping the child?” LaFlamme asked.

“Yes,” Duran responded.

During cross-examination, Johnson’s lawyer, Richard C. Gilbert, accused Duran of saying those things because the women had fought over housekeeping duties and smoking habits. He accused Duran of disliking Erica and deceiving Johnson into paying too much rent. Duran denied those allegations.

The director of Erica’s school contends that the little girl comes to school each day clean, well-dressed and with a good lunch. That statement was admitted in the form of a written agreement by all the lawyers.

Duran was troubled enough by Johnson’s bid to keep the baby that she began helping the Calverts’ lawyers, even calling them when Johnson was hospitalized with premature contractions because she was worried Johnson might deliver the baby and flee with him.

Johnson’s unprecedented case marks the first time a surrogate mother has sought parental rights to a child that is not genetically related to her. The Calverts, whose embryo was implanted in Johnson’s uterus in January, have temporary custody of the child, who was born Sept. 19.

The hearing is pivotal in the case because it will determine whether the baby has two parents--the Calverts--or three, including Johnson. A three-parent ruling could change the prevailing legal definition of parenthood. Testimony concluded Tuesday and closing arguments were set for today.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard N. Parslow Jr. said he will rule on the parental-rights question late this week or early next week. If Johnson is found to have legal parental status, a separate hearing will be held to work out permanent custody arrangements.

Mark Calvert, 34, testified that in early July, Johnson told the couple that she was going to deliver the baby early and that they had “better get the $5,000 ready.” When the alarmed pair protested that the infant would not survive if he was born then, Johnson responded that sophisticated hospital equipment would keep him alive, Calvert testified.

Calvert’s testimony appeared to undermine Johnson’s claim that she had formed a profound bond to her baby. Her bond to the child has become a central issue in the hearing. Lawyers have argued over whether her attachment to the infant is genuine or whether her desire to keep him is motivated by a quest for money or publicity or is an attempt to punish the Calverts for their perceived failure to care for her during the pregnancy.

During cross-examination, Gilbert questioned Calvert’s truthfulness by noting that he had said he could not afford to find a surrogate through a Beverly Hills agency and that even so he and his wife purchased a $30,000 Mercedes. Calvert responded that the Mercedes is currently for sale.

Calvert testified earlier that a few days after Johnson was implanted with their embryo, and before her pregnancy was confirmed, he was hoping that the procedure would not work because he and his wife were beginning to mistrust her. Gilbert attacked that statement Tuesday, equating Calvert’s hope with the desire to kill one’s child.