As secret negotiations toward an exchange of prisoners proceeded, U.S. Senator Patrick J. Leahy, while on a trip to visit Gross in prison, met with Adriana Pérez O'Connor, whose husband Hernández was in prison for life. She asked him to arrange a way for her to become pregnant by her husband. Leahy made her case to U.S. officials, who arranged for Hernández to provide his sperm for artificial insemination. When Pérez became pregnant, officials negotiating the prisoner exchange worried that her pregnancy would make their dealings public before they were ready to announce a deal. Leahy reported that prison conditions for Gross improved after he had assisted Pérez and Hernández.