Happy Valentine’s Day! If you love hearing stories about how assisted reproductive technology has changed people’s lives, and also you have space in your commute playlist for another podcast, let me humbly suggest that you check out I Want To Put A Baby In You, the podcast. We are officially live as of today. And one of the first episodes features an interview with celebrity legal blogger David Lat, founder of abovethelaw.com. In the interview, David shares his story of becoming a father.
There are also episodes on a seven(!) time egg donor, a bunch of legal messes (like when intended parents sue a surrogate, or get caught up in the Indian Child Welfare Act, or have a donor change his mind), and even some international intrigue. It’s going to be exciting! It’s all free, or you can subscribe for bonus content.
New Hope In New Jersey. Our first news item this week comes from the Garden State. New Jersey is ground zero for one of the first and most notorious surrogacy nightmares — the Baby M Case. The traditional surrogate — meaning she was a surrogate whose own eggs were being used, such that she was genetically related to the child — attempted to kidnap the baby. Unsurprisingly, a long and ugly court case followed. And, as a result of all the ugliness, New Jersey outlawed surrogacy completely in 1988.
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In the intervening 30 years, cooler heads have recognized that surrogacy arrangements are a valuable option for family-building. While traditional surrogacies are still very disfavored, the more typical form — where surrogates aren’t related to the baby — is generally accepted in the United States. Many states have taken the position that all parties’ interests are best served by permitting such arrangements with reasonable regulations.
But New Jersey has remained stuck in the ‘80s until now. It’s looking like that might change. For a third time, a bi-partisan committee has recommended that a pro-surrogacy bill be passed in New Jersey. The same bill was passed by both state legislative branches in 2012 and 2015, but both times it was killed by the veto of Governor Chris Christie.
Hopefully, the new Governor, Phil Murphy, will follow the recommendation of the commission, sign the new bill into law, and bridge the way for more in-state family-building options. And by that, I mean it should be a solid bridge with no traffic problems.
Love Fights It Out in Utah. Our next item comes from the Beehive state. Right now, Utah’s Supreme Court is in the midst of deciding whether a gay couple should be able to have a child via surrogacy under the language of the state’s surrogacy statute.
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In the meantime, Utah State Senator Lyle Hillyard introduced a bill to repeal the state’s 2005 surrogacy statute altogether. Opponents of the repeal effort testified about the positive personal and life-changing effects of surrogacy. Even the wife of Utah’s Lt. Governor testified as to her personal experience as a surrogate for her sister-in-law. “[These families] have gone through more than we can imagine to get to the point of contemplating surrogacy. To not allow them that protection, to be able to have that going forward, I think would be a huge mistake.”
Agreed! Here’s hoping that family-building options for all win the day in Utah.
Chopped Up Ovaries. New technological leaps are often a little creepy at first. The latest one, of “chopping up” a woman’s ovaries in order to increase fertility, sounds a bit counterintuitive. But apparently, the resulting technology and techniques could lead to significant advancements in fertility treatments. Evelyn Tefler, who is leading a research group on this topic and the breakthrough growth of a human egg in a laboratory, explained, “There are several conditions in which women lose their eggs much earlier in life, or they don’t grow. If we could understand the process, we could develop treatments for that.” Impressive work. Still, they may want to refine their description for certain procedures that avoid the word “chop.”
Given the good news this week, there is a lot of room for optimism. And if you are single with nothing better to do on Valentine’s Day, now you have a fun new podcast to listen to. I am there for you.
Ellen Trachman is the Managing Attorney of Trachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, adoption, and estate planning. You can reach her at [email protected].