Swiss voters will decide September 26 whether to legalize same-sex marriage, a change in the law that also would give lesbian couples access to donor sperm and same-sex couples the…
Currently pending before Congress is legislation that would offer an expanded range of fertility treatment services to U.S. veterans, including to many LGBTQ+ veterans who have previously been denied equal…
France, Switzerland vote for LGBTQ reproductive rights in win for fertility equality movement during Pride Month 2021
As we begin LGBTQ Pride Month, I am proud to recommend a great new book, Love Comes First: Creating LGBTQ Families, by Dr. Bradford Kolb, MD, and Melinda Maerker, with…
On February 2, 2021, just a little over a year after it initially approved a law to legalize in vitro fertilization for lesbians and single women, the French Senate voted…
Nineteen U.S. states have enacted laws that require insurance companies to offer coverage for in vitro fertilization and other types of fertility treatments—a ray of hope for individuals for whom…
Just in time for a hopeful New Year, the airwaves are full of the story of the beautiful baby girl born in October from an embryo created and frozen a…
As the U.S. Supreme Court reconvened last week for the first time since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A.…
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.
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…
Governor Andrew Cuomo is standing by his commitment to eliminate the three-decade ban on commercial, or compensated, surrogacy in New York, one of two states in the nation that currently…
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…
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…
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…
After 19 years of court battles and legal ups and downs, the French Court of Final Appeal has recognized Sylvie and Dominique Mennesson as the legal parents of their twin…
In a partial but powerful advance in the movement for reproductive freedom in France, French President Emmanuel Macron’s government last month drafted a new bioethics law that would legalize in…
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…
Many LGBT intended parents and their families rejoiced in 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court, in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Finally, LGBT married couples…
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…
The identity documents required to establish parentage in California, where your baby was born via egg donation and surrogacy, may be different than what you will need if you move…
Ireland legalized same-sex marriage the same year the United States did, via a Supreme Court ruling in 2015. But just as is true of the U.S., Ireland has struggled to…
Huffington Post recently published an article by guest writer Lora Liegel about her experience as a legally married lesbian mom compelled to undergo “second-parent” adoption of her son, Finn, in…
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…
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states, many LGBT parents and intended parents felt a weight lift from their shoulders: Now, surely,…
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 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…
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…
Proponents of marriage equality have a lot to celebrate as we near the beginning of a new year. Since January 1, 2014, courts in 20 states have overturned bans on…
As of September, 17 state attorneys general had joined a “friend of the court” brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear same-sex marriage cases from the Fourth, Seventh and…
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.
I once again had the great honor to serve as the National Event Co-Chair for The American Fertility Association’s Los Angeles awards gala, Illuminations, held May 3 at The W Hollywood.
The U.S. Supreme Court's June 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor set the stage for the issue’s repeat appearance in front of the high court.
Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce added recognition for same-sex married couples, vowing to treat same-sex spouses just like opposite-sex spouses.
Six couples and Equality Florida Institute filed suit asking a Florida state court to overturn Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage on the grounds that it violates their rights under the U.S. Constitution.
Utah same-sex couples and their families continue on a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs following a Dec. 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby overturning Utah’s ban on same-sex marriages.
Defenders of Utah’s gay marriage ban seem likely to force the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in again on same-sex marriage, sooner rather than later.
The people of Utah are divided between celebration and outrage in response to a federal court ruling Friday, Dec. 20, knocking down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage on constitutional grounds.
The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled December 19 that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying is a violation of the anti-discrimination clause in the state’s Constitution, making New Mexico the 17th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Earlier this month I attended the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys (AAARTA) and American Academy of Adoption Attorneys Mid-Year Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. The conference, entitled “A…
A California bill recently signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, AB 460, clarifies language and clears up confusion around whether gay and lesbian intended parents are entitled to insurance coverage for infertility treatment.
The U.S. Supreme Court released decisions on DOMA and Prop 8 that will have a profound impact for many of our clients and on the lives of LGBT people
Restricting the program to those with biological infertility conditions would have obvious negative ramifications for same-sex couples, for whom IVF is often a means of becoming parents.
The Gartner family of Iowa received wonderful news on May 3rd when they were notified that the Iowa Supreme Court agreed with them that the Department of Health must include the nonbiological mother of the couple’s daughter on the birth certificate.
Same-sex marriage legislation passed in two more U.S. states recently
Uruguay became the second Latin American nation, following Argentina, to legalize same-sex marriage
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.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s hearings on two crucial same-sex marriage cases this week has created a media frenzy and raised passions to fever pitch on both sides of the issue.
France became the second nation in one month to take the first steps toward marriage equality. The “Marriage for All” bill spearheaded by President François Hollande’s Socialist party also grants the same right to all married couples to adopt children.
