Reproductive Attorney
Are You Ready to Start Your Parenting Journey?
Whether you are building your family through surrogacy, or with the help of an egg, sperm, or embryo donation, assisted reproductive technology involves a wide range of legal and ethical issues for intended parents, carriers, and donors alike. Reproductive law attorney Teri Robins helps families navigate the legal system to ensure that contracts are fair, they comply with state and federal laws, and they’re legally binding. At TR Law Offices, we have decades of experience helping people from all walks of life bring the joy of parenthood into their lives.
Third party reproduction helps intended parents who may otherwise struggle to conceive experience the joys of parenthood. This is achieved through assisted reproduction technologies, which are the medical interventions that help facilitate pregnancy. Whether you’re a gestational carrier, donor, or intended parent, you will have to enter into legally binding contracts to ensure parental rights are properly secured. In all states, all parties entering into a contract for the purpose of third party reproduction are required to retain independent legal counsel.
Contact Attorney Teri Robins Now.
Guiding Families
Surrogacy in the United States
Surrogacy requirements in the U.S. vary by state due to differing laws and regulations. Generally, intended parents and surrogates must enter into a legally binding contract before the process begins. Legal parentage must be established through pre-birth orders or adoption, depending on state law. Additionally, some states have restrictions on compensation for surrogates, with a few banning compensated surrogacy altogether. It’s essential to consult with a lawyer specializing in reproductive law to navigate the complexities.
When a parties enter into a surrogacy agreement in accordance with the relevant law, at the end of the journey the intended parents will be the legal parents and the gestational surrogate or carrier will have no legal rights. It is our goal at TR Law Offices to make this process the easiest part of family creation path.
How Does Third Party Reproduction Work?
The inability to conceive a child naturally can weigh heavily on your heart. However, modern technology provides people from all circumstances with the tools they need to embark on their parenting journey. There are several methods third parties can use to help intended parents create their family.
Egg Donation
Egg donation occurs when one individual agrees to provide a recipient with her eggs to be used for conception via in-vitro fertilization. During IVF, an egg is removed from the donor’s ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a lab. The resulting embryo is placed into the recipient’s uterus.
Sperm Donation
Sperm donation is the voluntary provision of sperm for the purpose of achieving conception through IVF or IUI. IUI, or intrauterine insemination, is the process of placing donor sperm into the recipient’s uterus during ovulation.
Embryo Donation
Embryo donation is the process of using a previously fertilized egg (embryo) from another couple or individual’s IVF cycles. Typically, a surplus of embryos are created during the IVF process to increase the chances of conception. Embryos that are unused are often cryopreserved and donated for future recipients.
Gestational Surrogacy
A gestational carrier, or surrogate, is an individual who agrees to carry a pregnancy to term on behalf of an intended parent. This is achieved through IVF, so that a surrogate has no genetic relationship to the conceived child.
FAQs About Reproductive Law
Can you pay a surrogate?
In most states surrogates are allowed to receive compensation.
Can single parents use third-party reproduction to pursue parenthood?
Any person, regardless of sex, marital status, relationship status, or sexual orientation can legally pursue parentage through third party reproduction in most states.
Can a surrogate or donor decide to keep the baby?
Parentage in surrogacy is established through certified statements that are usually executed prior to the birth of a child. Additionally, a surrogacy contract outlines the intended parentage of the child prior to his or her conception. This contract must be signed before insemination begins. Prior to insemination, donors or surrogates can back out of the agreement, revoking the intended parent’s rights to any donated genetic material. However, once a child is conceived, his or her intended parents have parental rights, as the surrogate parent has no genetic ties or legally established parentage.
