Surrogacy and Egg Donation Lawyer & Attorney : Theresa Erickson : Erickson Law Firm : Practicing Reproductive and Gestational Carrier Law

As I was reading my monthly Wired magazine, which I truly enjoy for its information, I can across the following article:

http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/16-02/su_infertility_treatments

It really shocked me, as it was a very negative piece.  I know that the author may have had some bad experiences, but I do not like the fact that they "kind of" gave medical advice stating that it is better to use Clomid than do an IVF cycle - they did not address the fact that is not an option for everyone.  Plus, they stated that it rarely works - boy, I am shocked as that is not my professional and personal experience.  What do you think?

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

It is amazing, yet scary at the same time.  It is incredible how far this technology is taking us!

By Rick Weiss

Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 17, 2008; 6:16 PM

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Families considering using an egg or sperm donor should carefully consider the following:

Article continues as follows: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-eggsqanda8dec08,1,2279200.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Jessica O'Donnell allegedly posed as a war widow, saying her husband had been killed in Iraq, WYFF-TV in Greenwood, S.C., reported. Investigators say she offered to bear children for couples, telling them she wanted to help because of her personal tragedy.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/14843559/detail.html?rss=gs&psp=news

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

A New York gay lawyer who made an agreement with his niece that she would bear a child for him through gestational surrogacy won a ruling from Minnesota's Court of Appeals on December 11, approving custody and full parental rights.

Remainder of Article as follows:

http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19133589&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568860&rfi=6

Legal opinion is as follows:

http://www.lawlibrary.state.mn.us/archive/ctapun/0712/opa070452-1211.htm

Congrats to my friend and fellow counsel, Steve Snyder, on this big win!

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A surrogate mother can keep $48,000 in child support from the biological father, even though she later lost custody of the triplets to him, a state court ruled.

The state Superior Court ruled Thursday that Danielle Bimber does not have to repay James Flynn of Kirtland, Ohio, who had given her the money before the same appeals court granted him custody in April 2006.

The children were born in Erie more than four years ago, conceived with donor eggs fertilized by Flynn’s sperm and placed in Bimber’s uterus.

Remainder of Article: http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/UPDATES01/80105005/-1/rssupdates

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

This is definitely good news for all of us.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A woman who promised a sperm donor he would not have to pay child support cannot renege on the deal, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled.

The 3-2 decision overturns lower court rulings under which Joel L. McKiernan had been paying up to $1,500 a month to support twin boys born in August 1994 to Ivonne V. Ferguson, his former girlfriend and co-worker.

"This court takes very seriously the best interests of the children of this commonwealth, and we recognize that to rule in favor of (McKiernan) in this case denies a source of support to two children who did not ask to be born into this situation," Justice Max Baer wrote in the majority opinion issued last week.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

This case has been around in two different court systems involving an Ohio man wanted to be a parent. He used an egg donor from Texas, and the eggs were fertilized with his sperm and the resulting embryo was implanted in a woman from Pennsylvania. She gave birth to triplets. The deal fell apart when the woman who gave birth took the triplets home. Litigation ensued in both Pennsylvania and Ohio followed.

In December the Ohio Supreme Court issued an opinion you can find as follows: http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/newpdf/0/2007/2007-ohio-6750.pdf

It is a short opinion, both majority and dissent. The majority states that there isn’t any Ohio policy  about gestational surrogacy and so there’s no reason not to enforce the contract. They go as far as allowing consideration of an award of damages against the surrogate for breaching her obligations. 

Here are some other opinions on the matter: http://lexfamilia.wordpress.com/feed/

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Alot has been written about recently about the plight of a California couple whose daughter suffers from Tay Sachs.  Our prayers go out to both of them, and we would like to start a dialogue on this site to further discuss what everyone thinks. 

Article is as follows:

Troubled by the health history and backgrounds of some anonymous egg and sperm donors, leaders in the fertility industry have said in recent weeks that they would create a national registry to track donors and birth outcomes.

In response to a Dec. 9 article in The Times about a child born with a terminal genetic disease, representatives from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, a fertility industry organization, said they intend to record the histories of donors and surrogate mothers to help prevent such tragedies.

Click here for more of the article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-eggs3jan03,1,2138448.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

Additional Articles: http://www.choiceusa.org/blog/?p=384

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009603496

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Mary Ellen McLaughlin

If egg donors weren’t compensated, the whole business of assisted reproductive technology would be a shadow of where it is today. “No one would [donate eggs] for free,” one donor told a writer with MSNBC. “Maybe for your sister, but not for a stranger.”

Reminder of Article: http://conceptionconnections.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/compensation-for-egg-donors/

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

This article is interesting, as it clearly shows us that we are moving forward each day into a brave new world.

See article:  http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2008/01/11/News/344782.html

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The following article speaks about the recent media attention to gestational carriers in India.  I have not done enough research on the establishments in India; however, I do think that the laws in some US States are straightforward enough to keep people from venturing there.  Price is certainly an issue, as the carriers in India are not requesting as much as carriers do here in the US - however, I would need to view their medical facilities, the health of the carriers, as well as determine the laws that exist there, if any.  Regardless, this article is certainly food for thought.

See link:

http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/india/

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

This article is helpful in answering some of the basic questions about egg donation.  Have a look at: 

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4134371&page=1

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks