Spanish TV star and her adopted baby who was conceived using her late son's sperm on holiday in Mallorca

"This girl isn't my daughter, but my granddaughter," TV actress Ana Obregon told celebrity magazine ¡Hola! in an interview, posing with the baby for the cover.

"If that was my son's last will and testament, how could I not do it?" she said, adding that only parents who had lost a child have a right to express an opinion on the matter.

Obregon's only biological child, her son Aless Lequio, died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 27. He was related through his father to Spain's King Felipe VI.

¡Hola! reported on March 29 that Obregon had adopted a child born through a surrogate pregnancy in Miami, sparking a debate in Spain where all forms of surrogacy - including so-called "altruistic" ones where no money changes hands - are illegal.

Following that report, several government ministers criticised the practice.

"It is a form of violence against women," Equality Minister Montero said, adding that there was a "clear poverty bias" with regards to women who become surrogate mothers due to financial need.