A Child Caught In An Adult Game

A somewhat unusual contractual arrangement between two New Jersey couples

underscores the changing complexities of our society.

Mr. and Mrs. Stern discovered some time ago that the wife, Elizabeth Stern, a 40-year-old pediatrician, is unable to bear a child. The other couple are Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead. Mary Beth Whitehead is 30 and quite able to bear children. To satisfy the Stern's strong desire to become parents, the Whiteheads agreed to help.

The arrangement between the two couples seemed clearcut and simple - at first. With the Infertility Center of New York acting as agent, Mrs. Whitehead agreed to be artificially inseminated with Mr. Stern's sperm. When the baby was delivered, it would be passed on to the Sterns. They, in turn, would give the Whiteheads $10,000 for "reproductive services."

But life is rarely so simple. Inevitably, serious legal questions arose. By entering into the contract, had Mrs. Whitehead agreed to an arrangement that was in violation of the law in every state in the nation? Had she actually contracted to sell the baby?

One of the things both the Sterns and the Whiteheads apparently failed to consider adequately was the emotional side of the agreement. No matter how well a contract is written, a child is very different from any inanimate object.

The sound of a baby's voice, the light in his or her eyes, the innocence of a smile can hardly be ignored, especially by people who profess to revere children.

On seeing the infant she named Sara Mrs. Whitehead said, according to a New York Times report, "my emotions just overpowered me." She could not rid herself of the feeling that to take the $10,000 from the Sterns, under the terms of the contract, would look a lot like she was selling the baby.

She held to the main portion of the agreement and turned Sara over to the Sterns, but refused to take the money.

The baby was renamed Melissa by the Sterns. Shortly afterward Mary Beth Whitehead asked if she could keep the child in her home for a week. When Melissa wasn't returned to the Sterns, six police officers showed up at the Whiteheads' home. Mrs. Whitehead passed "Sara" out a back window to her husband, and they fled to Florida.