U.S. Recognizes Citizenship of Babies Born by Assisted Reproduction Abroad

We at IFLG, our colleagues in the field of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and advocates for families everywhere are celebrating a long-awaited victory today: The U.S. State Department has officially…

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Federal Court Rules Gay Dads’ Baby Born Via Surrogacy Abroad Is U.S. Citizen

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.”

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International Conference Addresses Human Rights of Children Born via Foreign Surrogacy

I had the great honor recently to represent the American Bar Association and its Assisted Reproduction Technology Committee at the first International Surrogacy Conference, hosted last month by Cambridge University’s…

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Presentations Aim to Advance Field of ART Law

The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of speaking engagements for me, primarily for the purpose of educating lawyers and sharing the knowledge and skills I’ve gained in the…

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Uncertain Status of Cryopreservation Agreements Creates Legal Conflict

With the growing use of cryopreservation, a method of freezing for future use eggs, sperm or embryos, we’re also seeing a growing amount of litigation resulting from disagreements as to their disposition. Sometimes a couple freezes eggs or sperm for medical reasons, such as cancer treatment, or merely in order to delay starting a family until a more opportune time. If the couple later separates, the partners may disagree about whether the eggs, sperm or embryo should be destroyed or preserved, how and when they can be used, and who has the right to make that decision.

Although such cases are still relatively uncommon (most people resolve these matters privately), as the technology improves and becomes more accessible to more people, it’s reasonable to assume such disagreements will occur more often. And as the law stands now, it’s anyone’s bet how these cases will wash out: in this area of law, it’s still the wild, Wild West.

Many couples sign a consent agreement or medical consent form, usually provided by their fertility agency, when they undergo egg or sperm harvesting or in vitro fertilization. Often, the clinic documents don’t cover what happens in the case of separation or divorce. Few intended parents go to a fertility thinking about what will happen if they get a divorce—most don’t want to think about it. However, it is incumbent upon the fertility services providers to make sure all eventualities are covered in these documents, and these intending parents must also be advised to carefully consider all eventualities before cryopreserving their genetic material.

But as things stand today, even the existence of a medical consent form addressing embryo disposition doesn’t rule out the prospect of conflict and litigation. Sometimes the court honors these consent forms, but not always.

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ABA Recommends Protecting Children’s Citizenship Rights

As more and more intended parents seek to create families via international surrogacy, national governments have been forced to consider their rules for parental recognition and citizenship of the resulting…

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