The government of Israel must end its ban on surrogacy for gay men and single men within six months, the nation’s top court ruled on July 11. The ruling follows…
A federal court has ruled, once again, that the child of a legally married gay couple, born via surrogacy abroad, is a U.S. citizen and has been since her 2019 birth—refuting the Trump administration’s continuing policy of defining her and other similar surrogate births to LGBTQ parents as “out of wedlock.”
Yesterday I participated in the second weekly national webinar for surrogacy professionals, convened by the American Bar Association and SEEDS (Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy). The webinars have been a great forum for fertility lawyers, reproductive healthcare providers, surrogacy and donor agencies and non-profit advocacy organizations from all over the U.S. to share information about current conditions and issues of concern to our clients and stakeholders.
In a historic decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ Americans are protected under the 1964 Civil Rights Act from being fired because of their sexual orientation…
I am honored to participate in TwoDads.U.K’s COVID-19 Support Sessions on Instagram TV with an April 23 interview entitled “Travel Bans during a US Surrogacy journey.” TwoDads.U.K. is a parenting…
As intended parents, donors and surrogates all over the world are postponing procedures, cancelling appointments, and juggling last-minute changes to travel and birthing plans due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic,…
“This appeal comes to us unopposed,” reads the first sentence of the Utah State Supreme Court’s August 1 decision striking down a statute that denied same-sex married couples equal rights…
The conflict and division surrounding immigration in the United States have spread beyond border crossings and asylum claims. Based on a narrow interpretation of existing law, U.S. authorities have not…
For more than two years, we’ve been following the case of two Italian dads, a gay couple, who became parents of twin boys via egg donation and surrogacy in Canada,…
Amid so many gravely concerning headlines about immigration recently, at least one immigration story had a happy ending last week: A federal judge overturned the government’s earlier decision to deny…
As we prepare to welcome a new year, several recent events point to growing worldwide acceptance of, access to and affordability of assisted reproductive technology. The government of Ireland will,…
Tens of thousands of LGBT Israelis and their allies took to the streets Sunday, protesting a new Israeli surrogacy law that denies gay men the right to become parents via…
Congratulations to Washington State, which just became the first state to enact UPA 2017, the updated Uniform Parentage Act for use by U.S. states as uniform legislation for parentage laws,…
The headlines have been full recently of the stories of two same-sex couples, one parents of twins, the other parents of sibling daughters, both suing the U.S. State Department in…
Navigating the Legal Maze for LGBT Intended Parents and Surrogacy Only a few short years ago, the idea of gay and lesbian couples having the same legal rights to marry…
A July 5 ruling by the French supreme court, or Cour de cassation, has brought some clarity but not necessarily made things any easier for French intended parents seeking French…
As an attorney with a busy practice, a husband and a father of two boys, my days usually fly by juggling responsibilities and deadlines, and there isn’t much time for…
I have the great honor of traveling next week to China and Japan to talk to members of the LGBT communities there about assisted reproductive technology and the legal considerations…
As a young gay professional back in the early 2000s, I can remember thinking it might be legal someday for me to marry my partner in my resident state of…
For the first time in history, an Italian court has recognized a same-sex couple as legal parents. The gay male couple, who has not been identified, had twin boys seven…
In the realm of “good news/bad news,” twin boys born to a gay Italian couple via in vitro fertilization and surrogacy in California will be recognized as Italian citizens, an…
As my fellow family lawyers and ART attorneys and I work to wrap our heads around last week’s presidential election results, many of our clients are turning to us for…
The World Health Organization is about to announce a dramatic change in its definition of infertility, as reported recently in The Telegraph—a change that may increase opportunity for LGBT intended…
A California bill signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown late last week will provide reassurance and peace of mind to California intended parents, particularly same-sex intended parents, as well…
A recent settlement in a federal lawsuit against the state of Texas may benefit LGBT intended parents by establishing the importance of an accurate, valid birth certificate in protecting children’s…
The UK High Court ruled today that UK’s surrogacy law, which bans single people from becoming legal parents via surrogacy, is in breach of the nation’s human rights laws, said…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this week that it is lifting its three-decade-old rule prohibiting gay and bisexual from donating blood. However, the agency said it will…
A law professor at Stetson University in Tampa, Florida, is suing the IRS to treat his and his partner’s assisted reproductive technology costs in the same way it has treated…
As a dad with my spouse, Tommy Woelfel, of two twin boys born via egg donation and surrogacy, I’m often asked what it’s like raising twins. Some people speculate that…
The Texas Department of State Health Services made headlines last month when it revealed in a court filing that it would begin allowing same-sex parents’ names on children’s birth certificates—although…
The big headline from Florida recently was that the state legislature overturned a law preventing gay or lesbian people from adopting. In fact, the legislation in question was a broader…
It’s hard to imagine what Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were thinking when they not only spoke out against gay adoption but spoke of the children born…
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to open hearings April 28 on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans in four states, a handful of contrarian holdouts continues to fuel the…
Effective Jan. 1, 2016, birth certificates of babies born in California will no longer identify a mother and father but will instead use the gender-neutral term “parent”
Surrogacy and parental establishment laws vary dramatically from state to state and from country to country.
Family Equality Council’s recent gala event, Night at the Pier, in New York, NY, honored three individuals who have been leaders in advocating for the equality of 3 million LGBT parents.
Some 65 babies born or about to be born and their gay intended parents are trapped in a kind of legal limbo in Thailand, where the surrogate mothers reside.
Restrictions on surrogate compensation make family formation via assisted reproductive technology (“ART”) a challenge for many single men. In India and Ukraine, two of the few countries where commercial surrogacy is allowed, single men are excluded.
A new gestational surrogacy law, AB 421, authored by Kim Surratt of Surratt Law Practice, PC, and an Of Counsel attorney to IFLG, was signed by the Governor of Nevada
Another development in France was the issuance of an order from the French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira that could have enormous impact on French families created via assisted reproductive technology.
Tommy Woelfel and Rich Vaughn along with their twin boys are featured currently in a London Times Magazine article, Inside gay Hollywood’s baby boom, by Rhys Blakeley.
With in vitro fertilization and egg donation, gay intended parents face the emotional decision of whose sperm to use, an issue gay couples must discuss openly.
