Friday Legal Updates™ - Gay Marriage Updates, Too Many Eggs, & Colorado Initiative
Hello and welcome to another Friday edition of our legal updates. Alot has been happening in the US this week, so our focus will be there. Note as I list these updates, feel free to comment on whether you agree or do not agree. How does this case or this law affect you? There are so many facets of assisted reproduction, and there is likely someone else out there just like you who has the same questions, fears and concerns. Again, TGIF!
Washington State - The state has passed a gay partnership law that essentially provides gays and lesbian "everything but marriage." The measure asked voters to approve or reject the latest expansion of the state's domestic partnership law, granting registered domestic partners additional state rights previously given only to married couples.
Full-fledged gay marriage is still not allowed under Washington law.
Illinois - Two for Illinois this week:
a. Couple Claims Institute Mixed Up Embryos - Oh, no, not another one! "A couple who sought fertility services to prevent passing on a genetic disorder says doctors at the Reproductive Genetic Institute carelessly commingled their eggs and sperm with that of other patients to create embryos.
The husband and wife, Abdullah Abdulmohsen and Enas Ibrahim, say they sought the institute's expertise to ensure that their children would not be born with a genetic disorder, Fragile-X syndrome, which Ibrahim inherited from her parents. Fragile-X causes "mental impairment" and is the "most common known cause of autism," according to the Fragile-X Foundation. The institute promised to provide the couple with "pre-implantation" genetic testing and in vitro fertilization, according to the complaint in Cook County Court.
The couple says that Ibrahim endured hormone treatments to produce numerous eggs which the doctors promised to fertilize with her husband's sperm. But they say doctors carelessly fertilized her eggs with another man's sperm and used her husband's sperm on another woman's eggs. They say the institute informed their relative that the embryos formed from Ibrahim's eggs do not match her husband's DNA. They say the doctors at the institute did not properly keep track of the eggs and sperm or the embryos produced in the mix-up.
b. Human Eggs for Sale - Too Many of Them - "An infertile couple claims an unregistered surrogacy center was in cahoots with a woman who used an alias to donate her eggs more than a dozen times, in violation of industry guidelines. The couple says that when they demanded their money back from Angels in Waiting Surrogacy Center, its owner, Dianna Watschke, closed the company down and reopened under another name. John and Kelli Conroy claim Watschke and Angels in Waiting, of Grayslake, Ill., failed to locate a suitable egg donor or reimburse them for a hefty retainer they paid after getting false information about the egg donor, "Kristin."
They say Watschke induced them to pay money up front based on false information about "Kristin." Based on information on the defendants' Web site, the Conroys say, they contacted Watschke "to inquire about whether 'Kristin' was available and eligible to be a donor for the plaintiffs." They say Watschke falsely assured them she "would obtain 'Kristin's' medical, psychological, pregnancy history and egg donation history to confirm that there was nothing to indicate 'Kristin' was unable to undertake the risks of the egg donation cycle." See Courthouse News for more informationon link above.
Colorado - Proposed Colorado Initiative to Define Eggs as People - "A new ballot measure campaign in Colorado seeks to legally define eggs, not just embryos, as people. The measure (see PDF) seeks to amend the state constitution so that "the term 'person' shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being," According to the Colorado Independent, this would "move the legal definition of a person further back into the reproductive cycle, granting cells the full spectrum of citizen rights."
The proposed measure goes further than Amendment 48, which was defeated in the 2008 elections by 73 to 27 percent and was a personhood initiative that declared a fertilized egg to be a person who enjoys all constitutional rights "relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of law".
If the initiative passes, it would not only put a woman's right to an abortion in danger but also threaten oral and emergency contraception, IUDs, in vitro fertilization clinics, and stem cell research. Biology professor Dr. Johnathan Van Blerkom, of the University of Colorado in Boulder, told the Colorado Independent that "to begin with [embryonic] stem cell research would stop.There would be no research in genetics in the causes of the origins congenital diseases that occur in humans, how to fix them, how to protect them early." Van Blerkom also expressed concern about liability. He said, "it's criminal liability. So would any program want to freeze an embryo in the state of Colorado? If the embryos die, as they frequently do when they are thawed, is that your responsibility? Is it an act of God? An act of science?"
Maine - Maine voters repealed a state law Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed, dealing the gay rights movement
a heartbreaking defeat in New England, the corner of the country most supportive of gay marriage.
Gay marriage has now lost in every single state — 31 in all — in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine — known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate — and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.
I look forward to your comments! Have a great weekend!
