15 Aug 2020 Surrogacy During COVID-19 Update for Intended Parents, Surrogates and Donors
Join Rich Vaughn of International Fertility Law Group and surrogacy professionals from all over the U.S. for the latest in a series of webinar discussions about the impacts and challenges of surrogacy during the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis for intended parents, surrogates, donors and third-party matching...
01 Jul 2020 Pride Month Panel: Family Building with Assisted Reproduction for LGBTQ People
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...
08 Jun 2020 Time for Equal Justice Under the Law
As managing partner in what is effectively a small business serving the public, I always consider carefully when and how much to post about politics or controversies that are outside the purview of our firm. Our IFLG team is devoted to helping people who are...
28 May 2020 ASRM Asks State Department for Travel Ban Exceptions for International Surrogacy
In an effort to support international intended parents and newborns stranded by the coronavirus COVID-19 emergency, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) yesterday sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting limited exceptions to the United States’ travel ban. In the...
05 May 2020 Covid-19 Travel Update for International Intended Parents: Building New Pathways
Travel Issues for International Intended Parents and Babies Born to U.S. Surrogates During Covid-19: Building New Pathways Where None Existed Before Our IFLG team has been working non-stop since the covid-19 pandemic hit, and I’m happy to report that, so far, we have been successful in...
04 May 2020 COVID-19 Travel Update for International Intended Parents
Join assisted reproductive technology attorneys Rich Vaughn and Molly O’Brien of International Fertility Law Group as they share information and advice for international intended parents planning to travel for the births of their babies via surrogacy in the United States during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. All...
01 May 2020 Surrogacy in the US for UK Intended Parents: Covid-19 Update
Every year thousands of UK intended parents travel to other countries to create families via surrogacy. As we reported last summer, UK surrogacy laws, written in the 1980s, are outdated and pose significant legal obstacles for infertile couples and same-sex couples who opt to become...
08 Apr 2020 International Intended Parents: COVID-19 Travel Advice for US Surrogacy, Birth
Join assisted reproductive technology attorneys Rich Vaughn and Molly O’Brien of International Fertility Law Group as they share information and advice for international intended parents planning to travel for the births of their babies via surrogacy in the United States during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Planning...
08 Apr 2020 International Intended Parents: Getting Home with Your Baby During COVID-19
Join assisted reproductive technology attorneys Rich Vaughn and Molly O’Brien of International Fertility Law Group as they share information and advice for international intended parents planning to travel for the births of their babies via surrogacy in the United States during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Getting...
02 Apr 2020 New York Ends Surrogacy Ban, Enacts Surrogate Bill of Rights
The New York state legislature passed today a landmark bill that will end New York’s three-decade ban on compensated surrogacy, establishing a surrogate bill of rights and streamlining the parental establishment process for intended parents. As we wrote last year, reproductive health experts and advocates were...
31 Mar 2020 New York Governor Cuomo Reverses Hospital COVID-19 Ban on Birth Partners
Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a directive over the weekend lifting a ban on visitors for pregnant women giving birth in New York State, reversing policies implemented by two large New York hospital systems in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to CNN....
29 Mar 2020 UK Asks Intended Parents to 'Avoid Becoming Pregnant' During COVID-19 Pandemic
British and European reproductive health experts are advising those undertaking fertility treatments to "avoid becoming pregnant" during the COVID-19 pandemic, as numbers of infections mount and health resources are stretched to the limit. Guidance issued March 18 by the British Fertility Society (BFS) and the Association...
25 Mar 2020 Spouses, Partners Banned from Delivery Rooms in New York COVID-19 Response
As the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the daily lives of millions, pregnant women are facing the prospect of delivering without the comfort of spouses, partners or doulas at their sides. Two large New York City hospital networks—New York-Presbyterian and Mt. Sinai Health System—announced new...
11 Mar 2020 New Law Requires IVF Insurance for 2.5 Million New Yorkers
Under a new law effective January 1, about half of insured New Yorkers—some 2.5 million people—now have access to insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization, or IVF, for treatment of infertility. Passed in 2019 as part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2020 proposal, the law requires large...
10 Feb 2020 Surrogacy Education Down Under Kicks Off IFLG's 2020 Travel Plans
I was excited and honored to have the opportunity to speak on U.S. surrogacy laws at two Growing Family conferences on February 8 in Sydney and on February 9 in Melbourne, Australia. Both full-day conferences were parent-curated surrogacy education events designed to provide potential intended...
20 Jan 2020 Tennessee Adoption Law Among Surge of Discriminatory New ‘Religious Liberty’ Laws
Tennessee legislators passed a law this month that allows faith-based adoption and foster agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ people without jeopardizing their public funding. Governor Bill Lee has said he will sign the law, which was passed by the Tennessee House in April 2019, then pulled...
15 Jan 2020 Uterus Transplant Donors Motivated to Give Gift of Motherhood
Pennsylvania researchers celebrated recently the birth of a healthy baby boy to a woman who received a uterus transplant from a deceased donor—only the second successful procedure and birth of its kind in the United States. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the mother, Jennifer Gobrecht, learned...
02 Jan 2020 Cuomo Vows to Take on New York Surrogacy Ban Again in 2020
In advance of his January 8 state-of-the-state address, Governor Andrew Cuomo has promised to renew his efforts to end New York’s statewide surrogacy ban in 2020 and to provide the strongest protections for surrogates and intended parents anywhere in the U.S. Cuomo and other progressive legislators...
18 Oct 2019 Family Building with ART Is Hot Topic at Taiwan LGBT Pride 2019
To all my friends and colleagues in Taiwan, Happy Pride 2019! I will be there soon to celebrate with you and to participate, along with the organization Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy, in Taiwan Pride 2019, October 25 through October 27 in Taipei. In May 2019,...
15 Oct 2019 France Takes Another Step to Legalize IVF for Lesbians
The French lower legislative body, the National Assembly, voted today in favor of a law that would legalize in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technologies for single women and lesbians. The bill, which is part of a broader bioethics bill, will go next...