Egg Donation/Surrogacy Agency Takes a Stand for Ethics

As an attorney practicing in the field, and as an officer in an egg donation agency, Extraordinary Conceptions, LLC, I completely agree with Alternative Reproductive Resources and their ethical code, which can soon be found at their website (http://www.arr1.com/). I now work professionally with my reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Michael Feinman of Huntington Reproductive Center, but when I told him I was opening my law practice in assisted reproduction and a surrogacy and egg donation agency, he applauded the law practice, but said, "Just what we need, another agency." Trust me, the phrase was dripping with sarcasm, but I don't think I need to tell you that.

After he got over his shock, he said he would help me and gave me some great advice on what not to do. I can never thank him enough for that advice on "what not to do" when running an agency. It has helped tremendously.

One of the problems is that states do not require any licensing for surrogacy and egg donation agencies. If you can obtain a business license, you can open a surrogacy and egg donation agency - no experience or skills necessary. The State of California has no plans to pursue licensing procedures and it doesn't look like they have any long-term plans to require it, so it means that all parties must be vigilant when choosing an agency. it's not an easy thing to do, considering how emotional this process is, but it is essential to everyone's success. It's heartbreaking to me when agency owners take Intended Parents' money that they have worked so hard for. All the couple or individual wants is a baby, something most people can do automatically. For the infertile, a baby takes a lot of hard work and a lot of money.

The complete article can be found here: http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-care-hospitals/20071024/AQW18924102007-1.html#

Florida Couple to Appeal Court's Decision in Surrogacy Case

The Lamitinas have appealed the court's ruling denying the Intended Father any visitation to his biological child. The Florida court ruled in favor of the traditional surrogate (a woman who donates her egg and carries and gives birth to the child), Stephanie Eckard, who gave birth to the child, a girl, five months ago.

The Lamitinas have a child from a previous surrogacy relationship and did not use the services of any attorney to have that child, nor did they work with an attorney for this surrogacy arrangment.

Again, I cannot stress the importance of working with an attorney who specializes in assisted reproduction law when you are using a third-party to help you create a child. It is critical that all parties are represented by an attorney who can explain your rights, responsibilities and duties under the contract.

See the article from the couples' Today show appearance here.

Surrogate Makes a Difference

There are a few questions every one of my clients ask me and they are: 1. Why does she want to be a surrogate, and 2. Will she have any rights to my child. The article below really sheds light on the giving heart of most surrogates. Yes, the money is nice, but money is not the motivating factor for the majority of women who make the decision to carry another's child. They do it to make a difference. To answer question # 2, if you select your surrogate from a state where surrogacy is practiced, legally you are protected and should be declared the parents of your children (or child) before they are born. But, this article really shows that surrogates do not want the children. They have their own family and want to help the couple or individual create, or add to, their own. See complete article here.

Single Embyro Transfer in Older Women Proving Successful

Women older than 35 who underwent elective single blastocyst (five-day embyro transfer) at Standford School of Medicine achieved a pregnancy rate of 62.2%. Three women miscarried, with the live birth rate of 51.1%. None of the pregnancies resulted in multiples, which is a greater concern in older woman as they can experience more complications, not only for themselves, but for their unborn children. Even more promising is the fact that all of the women in the study used their own eggs and the oldest woman was 42.9. See the full article here.

Surrogacy in Arkansas Viable Option for Gays & Lesbians

A recent post on www.proudparenting.com states that Arkansas has two advantages not found in any other state:

"First, the marital status of the surrogate is irrelevant; and no adoption is necessary after the birth of the child to the surrogate parent. The birth certificate lists the parents as those intended in the surrogacy contract."

While California has not provided legislation regarding surrogacy, the case law provides for the same thing. The marital status of the surrogate is irrelevant and no adoption is necessary to place the Intended Parents names on the birth certificate. The intent of the parties controls as evidenced in the legal contract the parties entered into prior to the embryo transfer.

In fact, in California the Intended Parents are declared the parents by court order prior to the birth of their child(ren).

While I knew that Arkansas was a surrogate-friendly state, I had no idea that the laws were so favorable and I applaud the legislature for their insight as they could have drafted legislation similar to Texas and North Dakota where the Intended Parents must be a married heterosexual couple in order for the law to apply.