Tag: surrogate

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Surrogate pregnancies on rise despite cost hurdles

brigitte

6578-000099But the Chicago advertising executive never expected she would have to sell her house, drop out of business school and move back in with her parents to tackle costs associated with hiring the surrogate mother who delivered a healthy baby girl on her behalf earlier this year.

She joins the selective but growing ranks of would-be parents – primarily upscale professionals with ample discretionary cash – turning to gestational surrogates to help them fulfill their dreams of having biologically connected children. This differs from traditional surrogacy, in which the surrogate is the child’s genetic mother.

But the costs faced by people working with gestational surrogates are daunting, with few options outside of creative self-funding or high-priced loans.

“I felt like movie stars do that,” said DiSantis, who despite a six-figure-plus income struggled with expenses that she said ultimately approached $300,000. “I didn’t know what it was or how it worked.” Read full article.

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Surrogacy case hears ‘principle of intent’ is primary consideration

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It should be presumed that the parents of a child born to a surrogate mother are “the commissioning couple”, a fertility expert told the High Court this morning.

Dr Mary Wingfield, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist with the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, with a specialty in infertility, said the fact that a child was the genetic child of the commissioning couple was also a factor. But the “principle of intent” was the primary consideration.

Dr Wingfield was giving evidence in a landmark case challenging the refusal of the State to allow the genetic mother of twins born to a surrogate mother to be listed as the children’s mother on their birth certificates.

The surrogate mother was the sister of the genetic mother in the case, the Court had been told, and was not objecting to the couple’s application.

Reporting on the family law case, which would normally be heard in private, has been partially approved because of the importance of the issues at stake. Read full article.

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India Bars Same-Sex Couples From Using Surrogates

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Officials from India’s government announced that gay couples and single individuals from other countries who wish to start a family are prohibited from using the country’s popular surrogate program, New Delhi Television Limited reports.

India’s surrogacy program is a growing industry. Over the past few years, foreign couples, both gay and straight, have taken advantage of the country’s low-cost and legally simple way to access a surrogate. The new measure, however, not only bars same-sex couples from using the surrogates but also leaves gay couples who already started the process in limbo.

The new rules state that only straight couples who have been married for more than two years can use India’s surrogacy program. Notified by the change from a message on the Indian Home Ministry’s website, fertility clinics and LGBT rights activists termed the move “discriminatory”.

“It’s totally unfair – not only for gay people but for people who are not married who may have been living together for years and for singles,” Mumbai gay rights advocate Nitin Karani said.

“Parenting is everybody’s right and now we’re withdrawing that right,” Dr. Rita Bakshi, who is the head of the International Fertility Centre in New Delhi, said. “These rules are definitely not welcome, definitely restrictive and very discriminatory.” Read full article.

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Should commercial surrogacy be made legal in Britain?

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More and more heterosexual and same-sex couples in Britain are turning to surrogate mothers to help them have a family.

This month, singer Sir Elton John and his civil partner, film producer David Furnish, welcomed their second son into the world.

Both children were born to the same surrogate mother through an agency in California, where commercial surrogacy is legal and surrogates can be paid.

While surrogacy is legal in Britain, it is a criminal offence to pay a surrogate mother more than ‘reasonable expenses’ and it is also illegal to advertise that you are seeking a surrogate mother or willing to act as one.

Couples here wanting to have a baby through surrogacy can travel to somewhere like the US where they can use a professional agency, or they can find a willing surrogate here, often through the help of non-profit organisations which host social events and online forums where surrogates and intended parents can meet. Read full article.

 

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Georgia Woman Angie Stockton Gives Birth to her own Grandson

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Athens – A Georgia woman Angie Stockton, 45, has given birth to her own grandson after she agreed to act as a “gestational carrier” for her daughter Krista Saxon, who was unable to carry her baby through pregnancy.

The baby, Tucker Landry Saxon, was born on Saturday weighing seven pounds, 12 ounces. He became the fourth baby to be born to his grandmother in the U.S. and the first in the state of Georgia. According to Online Athens, Stockton gave birth to Tucker Landry Saxon at Athens Regional Medical Center. Read full article.
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Surrogate Mothers Help Couples Who Can’t Conceive

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As a pediatric nurse at St. John’s Hospital, Buffy Lael sees the beauty of childbirth daily. It wasn’t surprising that she longed for a baby of her own.

After years of trying — including fertilization treatments — and several miscarriages, it seemed her dream was not to be. But where nature and science let her down, her good friend never would.

Antonea Wolf Lael is now 2 years old. Nea, as she is called, is still too young to understand how she came to be, but her mother is forthcoming in telling the tale of the special role her friend Brenda played.

Around three years ago, Buffy and her husband, John, were out to dinner with Brenda and Scott Wade of Cantrall. The two couples had been friends for years, but it still came as a shock when Brenda offered to serve as a surrogate mother so the Laels could finally have a child.

“I immediately started crying and was in disbelief. It was totally not expected at all,” Buffy said.

Read full article.

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Maine’s Highest Court Rules That District Courts Have Authority To Make Parentage Determinations In Gestational Surrogacy

ASRM News and Research

Last week, Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court addressed for the first time the issue of parentage in a gestational surrogate birth, finding that the District Courts have authority under existing law to determine who a child’s parents are when the child is conceived through ART and then carried and delivered by another person.

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New guidelines issued for surrogates

Lorie A. Parch

Experts believe the number of surrogate births will continue to rise as more people, including gay men, choose the option.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the leading professional medical organization focused on fertility and infertility, recently released new guidelines for gestational carriers (PDF). Since ASRM is a medical organization, these recommendations are mostly intended for physicians and other healthcare professionals, but if you’re considering using a surrogate to carry your child, you may want to check out the latest thinking on what can be a very complex issue.

The new document aims to provide more clarity and guidance for good practice on these topics:

  • Screening & testing of genetic parents & gestational carriers
  • Complex medical & psychological issues for gestational carriers, parents & children
  • Updates on optimal screening and testing for STDs and psychological assessments

If you’re considering using a donor or surrogate, you may want to read these ConceiveOnline.com articles as well:

Ways to Strengthen Your Relationship When Using a Donor or Surrogate

Third-Party Reproduction and the Law (a 2009 article, so be sure to check that any specific laws mentioned are still current in your state).

Are you considering using a gestational carrier/surrogate? What are your biggest questions and concerns?

 

Author:
Lorie A. Parch
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Carrying Dreams: Why Women Become Surrogates

ASRM News and Research

Surrogacy is an idea as old as the biblical story of Sarah and Abraham in the book of Genesis. Sarah was infertile, so Abraham fathered children with the couple’s maid. Today, there are many more options for people who want to grow their families — and for the would-be surrogates who want to help.

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Who Is a Parent? Surrogate Technology Outpaces Law

ASRM News and Research

Technology means someone who never thought they’d be able to conceive can use a sperm donor, an egg donor and a surrogate — a woman who bears a child for someone else. But the law has not kept pace with technology, and with so many people involved, a key question remains: Who is a legal parent?