A 70-year-old Spanish actress has stunned the world after revealing she gave birth to a baby girl conceived using her late son’s frozen sperm and a donor egg — making her both the mother and grandmother of the child. The astonishing and controversial case has reignited ethical debates about science, grief, and the limits of modern fertility.
The woman, identified as veteran performer Ana Obregón, told reporters she made the decision after losing her only son, Aless, to cancer in 2020 at the age of 27. “It’s what he wanted,” she said tearfully in an interview with ¡Hola! magazine. “Before he died, he told me, ‘Promise me I’ll have children.’ I kept that promise.”
Obregón’s emotional revelation has divided public opinion across Europe, with some calling it a “miracle of love” — and others branding it “a moral nightmare.” The actress confirmed the baby was born via surrogate in Miami, using her late son’s preserved sperm and a donor egg. “She’s not my daughter — she’s my son’s daughter,” Obregón clarified. “But I will raise her as my own.”
“Spanish actress Ana Obregón, 70, reveals she gave birth using her late son’s frozen sperm.” @PopBase
The extraordinary story quickly exploded online, with hashtags like #AnaObregon and #MotherOrGrandmother trending worldwide. Social media reactions ranged from awe to disbelief. “Science is incredible, but this feels heartbreaking,” one user wrote on X. Another said, “She brought part of her son back — that’s love in its purest, strangest form.”
Obregón, who was once one of Spain’s most recognizable television personalities, said she began pursuing the idea a year after Aless’s death. “Grief changes you,” she told Reuters. “I spent years crying, then one day I realized I could still give him life. I could make him a father.”
Under Spanish law, posthumous reproduction using a deceased person’s sperm is illegal without prior written consent. However, because the procedure took place in the United States, where regulations are more permissive, Obregón was able to proceed legally. She insists her son gave verbal approval before his death. “He wanted this,” she said. “He told me so.”
“Ana Obregón says her late son asked her to ensure he would ‘become a father, even if he wasn’t here.’” @etnow
Medical experts have described the case as one of the most complex examples of assisted reproduction ever made public. Dr. Marisol Vega, a fertility specialist at Mayo Clinic, told reporters the ethical implications are enormous. “You’re not just dealing with biology here — you’re dealing with death, consent, and identity,” she explained. “It challenges our understanding of what it means to be a parent.”
Obregón gave birth at a hospital in Miami earlier this year. She described holding the newborn for the first time as “the closest I’ve felt to my son in years.” “When I looked at her face, I saw him,” she said to The Guardian. “It was as if he was alive again — a piece of him, breathing.”
The baby, named Ana Sandra, was born healthy and is now being raised by Obregón in Madrid. “Every time she laughs, I feel healed,” she said. “People can judge me — I don’t care. My son has a daughter, and that’s all that matters.”
“Obregón calls the baby her ‘miracle of grief’ — and says she feels Aless’s spirit in every smile.” @buzzingpop
The story has ignited fierce debate among religious groups and bioethicists. The Vatican condemned the procedure as “morally unacceptable,” while women’s rights advocates in Spain defended it as an act of autonomy. “It’s her body, her grief, and her choice,” wrote columnist Lucía Ramírez. “If men can father children posthumously through stored sperm, why should women be denied the right to carry that legacy?”
Others have raised questions about the child’s future. “This girl will grow up learning that her grandmother is also her mother,” said bioethicist Dr. Javier Ortiz. “That duality will shape her entire sense of self. It’s a miracle — but it’s also a psychological experiment.”
Despite the controversy, public sympathy for Obregón remains strong. Videos of her cradling the infant have gone viral on Instagram, where she has more than 1.2 million followers. “She looks so peaceful,” one user commented. “Like she’s holding both her son and her granddaughter at the same time.”
Spanish lawmakers, however, are now calling for tighter oversight on cross-border fertility procedures. “We need to ensure these cases don’t bypass national ethics,” a government spokesperson told Reuters. “This situation is unprecedented, and it raises difficult questions we must confront.”
Obregón, unshaken by the backlash, says she hopes her decision will be seen not as selfish, but as sacred. “Love doesn’t die when a heart stops beating,” she said. “Love can create life — even after death.”
“She’s both the mother and grandmother — a story where grief meets science and love defies the rules.” @PopCrave
In a post shared on her social media, Obregón wrote a final message to her son: “My dear Aless, I did what you asked. She’s here, your daughter, your light. I see you every time she smiles. We did it.”
As the world debates the ethics, one thing remains undeniable — a mother’s grief has rewritten the boundaries of possibility. “She broke science to keep love alive,” wrote one user on TikTok. “And maybe that’s the most human thing of all.”
