London, August 10: A British surrogate mother who agreed to have Osama Bin Laden’s grandchild is expecting twins, reports The Daily Mail, London. Louise Pollard was given the news during her eightweek scan at a private clinic in Manchester.
She had conceived via IVF using the sperm of Bin Laden’s son Omar and the eggs of his 54- year- old British wife, Zaina, a six- times- married grandmother of five who was previously known as Jane Felix- Browne.
The couple, who married in 2007, had proved unable to have children together and contacted 24- year- old Pollard through a surrogacy website.
She has already had two babies for British childless couples.
Omar Bin Laden lives in the Gulf state of Qatar and is not allowed to enter Britain. But his wife, who is from Cheshire, hopes the children will be schooled in the UK. Pollard, a PA from Bristol, said Zaina was at her side when she realised she was expecting twins.
She said: “ The sonographer put the ultrasound on my stomach and straight away I saw two distinct sacs, which meant there were two babies.
“ I said, ‘ Oh my God, that’s twins’ and the sonographer showed us one head and then the other. Zaina was in tears and I just sat there in shock.” Zaina left her husband last month, just as the pregnancy was announced. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia following weeks of erratic behaviour during which he began to hear the voice of his father in his head.
Zaina blames Omar’s troubles solely on his father and the terrorist atrocities he inspired. She said: “ There’s no one else responsible for this. Omar loves and hates Osama at the same time.” She has since returned to her home in Cheshire where she and Pollard have been spending much of their time together.
But the surrogate mother said news of the twins made a reconciliation more likely. “ Omar is really chuffed. He and Zaina have been speaking every day. She has been desperate to fly out to see him but has been waiting until I had had this scan.
Now that is done, she will be visiting him next week. It’s almost certain they will get back together.” All of Pollard’s treatment has been paid for privately and has taken place in the Middle East, outside the jurisdiction of the UK’s strict surrogacy rules.
But she insists she is abiding by British law, which states that surrogates can be paid only expenses to a maximum of £ 10,000 ( Rs 7.35 lakh ).
There are those who believe Pollard’s actions to be, at best, misguided and, at worst, contemptible.
She said: “ I have had many offensive messages from strangers on Facebook and hate mail. Some people have said I should be stabbed in the stomach, others have said they hope the baby dies.”