Assisted reproductive technology (ART) can help someone’s dreams of parenthood become reality through techniques like egg donation. Before making plans for egg donation, you may have questions about the process and any legal requirements involved. Most importantly, intended parents deserve to know how their rights will be protected after egg donation, and the donor should also be informed of her role and expectations.
Our egg donation lawyer can help individuals and couples in Rhode Island understand all legal issues involved with assisted reproductive technology and the egg donation process. Attorney Robins can answer your questions about how to safeguard the legal rights of parent and donor after the baby is born. Reach out today to learn how TR Law Offices can help you start your journey.
Through egg donation, a donor provides her eggs to intended parents through a surgical procedure. Donor eggs are removed from the donor, evaluated in a laboratory, then either frozen or fertilized immediately. Once the donated egg is fertilized with sperm, the fertilized embryo can be transferred into the womb of the recipient or a surrogate. This process is commonly known as in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Egg donation is often used for those who want a child but cannot get pregnant for any reason, such as infertility. Other hopeful parents, including same-sex couples, can utilize egg donation to achieve their parenthood goals. Attorney Robins has an understanding of egg donation contracts and its implications for parental rights, and can help intended parents in Rhode Island make sure the process goes smoothly.
State law allows women who give birth to a child born through egg or embryo donation to be considered the natural mother of the child. Children born through gestational surrogacy can also be considered the child of the intended parents rather than the donors of egg and sperm. Under § 15-8.1-702 of Rhode Island’s Uniform Parentage Act, egg donors do not hold parental rights over a child born to the gestational mother. The recipient of the egg donation is typically considered the intended parent with rights to establish parentage. Intended parents do not need a genetic connection to the embryo under state law.
We recommend that couples pursuing egg donation enter into a contract to define each party’s rights and responsibilities. Often, a donation agreement signed by egg donors will address these issues. Effective donor agreements can:
Someone planning for egg donation will rarely know exactly what to expect, and what problems to avoid. A skilled and compassionate attorney can create and review egg donation agreements that fit the needs of all parties involved.
Egg donation, in itself, is a clinical process. However, egg donation implicates legal rights of multiple individuals at the same time, and requires careful review to avoid problems in the future. Attorney Robins has valuable experience in creating egg donation contracts that prepare individuals for parenthood without the potential for legal disputes that might happen without clear, legally binding agreements.
Scientific and legal advances allow hopeful parents to benefit from egg donation and expand their family. Our egg donation agreement lawyer can help donors or recipients in Rhode Island identify their goals and clarify their legal rights before the procedure takes place. To learn more, call our experienced attorney from TR Law Offices today.
