To watch on IVF Daddies Channels:
In this episode, Richard Westoby interviews Molly O’Brien, a legal expert in surrogacy. They discuss the legal aspects of surrogacy contracts, including the importance of having a contract to establish parental rights, the timing of obtaining a court order, and the potential challenges that may arise. They also touch on the importance of trust and communication between intended parents and surrogates, as well as the financial and emotional aspects of the contract. The conversation concludes with a discussion on termination of pregnancy and the role of compensation in surrogacy.
Takeaways
Surrogacy contracts are more complex than egg donation contracts because they involve parental rights. A court order is necessary to establish the intended parents as legal parents and remove the surrogate’s legal rights. Trust and communication are crucial in the relationship between intended parents and surrogates. Compensation in surrogacy should be fair and not coercive. Termination of pregnancy should be discussed and agreed upon by both parties in the contract.
Sound Bites
“Surrogacy is a lot more complicated. The legal contract is much longer, more detailed, because we are dealing with parental rights when it comes to surrogacy.” “Everything isn’t really completed and secured until after the birth. So in some states there is a little bit of a timeline where the surrogate is technically the legal parent until that paperwork is completed.” “Communication is key. As with everything in life, communication is key.”
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
04:17 Financial Aspects of Surrogacy Contracts
09:55 Addressing the Sensitive Topic of Termination
16:22 Psychological Assessment and Compensation
ABOUT MOLLY
Molly O’Brien has worked in the field of Assisted Reproduction since 2005. Before becoming a world recognized lawyer helping parents around the world with their legal contracts, Molly worked for an Egg Donation Agency and also for a Surrogacy Agency. During this time she became familiar with all aspects of the assisted reproduction field. Since becoming an attorney in 2011, she has gained extensive experience in drafting and negotiating Surrogacy, Sperm and Egg Donation as well as Embryo Donation Contracts. Ms. O’Brien has also appeared before many local Judges to help parents finalize their parental rights, and has extensive experience in obtaining all of the documents necessary for her clients to return to their home country.
Molly O’Brien graduated Magna Cum Laude from Whittier Law School and authored a Whittier Law Review titled: An Intersection of Ethics and the Law: The Frozen Embryo Dilemma and the Chilling Choice Between Life and Death. Ms. O’Brien is the Past Chair of the Legal Professional Group section of ASRM.
Additionally, Ms. O’Brien is a member of the ABA’s ART Executive Committee, the ABA SponsorshipCommittee, the ABA CLE Committee, and she is the co-chair of the ABA Legislative Committee. Having served on the Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy Legal Committee and the Conference Planning Committee for several years, she is now the President through 2025.
In Molly’s spare time she is an avid sailor and races on many different boats. She has a special love for getting more women out sailing and has done several all-female crew races.
