When Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin announced on Aug. 21 that he was the father of twin boys born to a surrogate mother, the media reacted cautiously. Martin is single, and for years rumors have circulated that he is gay. Celebrity interviewer Barbara Walters once asked him about this, and he dodged the question, but since the announcement, most of the media speculation about whether or not Martin is homosexual has been confined to the blogosphere.
Regardless of his sexual orientation, Martin's means of becoming a father is worthy of discussion. His decision to have a child via gestational surrogacy, which means donor eggs are fertilized in vitro and then implanted in the womb of a woman who is not the producer of those eggs, raises questions as to why he didn't go the traditional route; and by "traditional" I don't mean impregnating a woman, but, rather, adoption. As a single man, it is probably more difficult for him to adopt a child than it is for a couple, but it certainly isn't impossible. For one thing, he's the head of The Ricky Martin Foundation, whose mission is to eliminate child trafficking and exploitation throughout the world. He knows something about orphans.
Surrogacy is becoming medically easier, but it is still considered a last resort for couples who can't have children the conventional way. Martin isn't the first single celebrity, or even the first single male celebrity, to bring a child into this world using the method, and one can only assume that his reason for doing so is the same as that of infertile couples: He wants his child to have his DNA.