Italy has made it illegal for couples to go abroad to have a baby through surrogacy. It’s a move critics say would criminalize parenthood for some couples — in particular gay men.
With the recent lifting of COVID-19-related travel bans, effective in November 2021, as well as long-needed reforms to U.S. naturalization procedures, most intended parents who travel abroad for IVF and…
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…
Join me, Australian fertility attorney Stephen Page and Dr. Said Daneshmand of San Diego Fertility Center as we discuss 'Surrogacy in the US for Australians.' Despite the implementation of numerous…
It’s hard to believe it has been eight months since the first time we wrote about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international intended parents planning surrogacy in the…
San Diego Fertility Center's Richard Westoby talks to IFLG's Rich Vaughn about updates in the process of traveling into the US from Europe during the time of COVID-19 pandemic. Planning…
Join Molly O'Brien of International Fertility Law Group and surrogacy professionals from around the world for a recent Growing Families Webinar broadcast in August 2020, discussing international surrogacy options in…
As some parts of the world take halting steps to resume daily life in the face of COVID-19, a tragedy has unfolded in Ukraine, where dozens of babies born to…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Last year we applauded a decision by the European Court of Human Rights that the Italian government violated the rights of an Italian couple in removing from their home the…
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…
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…
In its most recent ruling on families formed via assisted reproductive technology, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Italian authorities for removing a child born to an Italian…
A number of high-profile cases of malfeasance or unethical activity related to international surrogacy have recently made headlines worldwide, fueling negative misconceptions.
If you have not requested an expedited birth certificate, it may take several weeks before your child’s birth certificate is available. Generally a written or online request is required for you to receive your child’s birth certificate, along with confirmation that you are an “authorized” person. You can order the certificate via an online service such as vitalchek.com or directly from the County Clerk or Recorder in the county where your baby was born. We strongly suggest you purchase multiple copies of your child’s birth certificate—particularly if you do not reside in the US or will need to request an amended birth certificate in future. The office will charge a per-copy fee.
Once the birth certificate worksheet is completed, the hospital birth clerk will send it to the vital records office in the county in which your child was born.
In the case of an expedited birth certificate request, ask the hospital birth clerk for the address of the local vital records office, where you will pick up the birth certificate in person. Call before you go to confirm the birth certificate is ready and available for you to pick up.
If you need an expedited birth certificate, as you might if you plan to take your baby home to another country, ask the hospital birth clerk to expedite the birth certificate request at this time. In most cases, you will receive the expedited birth certificate within a few days.
Following your baby’s birth, the hospital birth clerk will complete a birth certificate and birth registration worksheet.
Some states require that the birth registration documents include some information about the surrogate for public health and statistical purposes only, but such information will appear only on the confidential portion of the birth registration; however, the official birth certificate will not contain this information.
If your baby is born in a “pre-birth state,” where pre-birth orders of parentage are permitted for babies born via surrogacy, the birth clerk will use information from the pre-birth parentage judgment we obtain on your behalf. The parentage judgment will direct the registrar to allow you to name the child, as well as list you as the parent(s).
In states where pre-birth parentage orders are not allowed, the process is essentially the same except the birth clerk will eventually use information from the post-birth order we obtain on your behalf. In some instances, the birth clerk will need to send the birth registration to vital records before the post-birth order is obtained; and in these situations, the state’s Vital Records will enter the correct birth registration to show you as the legal parent(s).
