Showing posts with label Gestational Surrogacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gestational Surrogacy. Show all posts

Friday, February 23, 2018

Update on SB6037, the Washington State Uniform Parentage Bill on Compensated Surrogacy Arrangements

SB6037 has now been heard in the WA House and will be voted on next week with no real wrinkles that I am aware of. With the testimony of Jennifer Tammen (Former IP), Jon Tammen (17 year old son born via surrogacy in CA) and Melissa Flaherty (The wonderful CA Gestational Carrier for the Tammen's who has now testified twice this year in favor of our surrogacy bill), are among the many who have offered both the senate and the house their support of SB6037 and have encouraged the members to think of those suffering from infertility here in WA state and how much of an emotional and financial burden it is to be so far apart during the surrogacy process. 
2018 Jon and Melissa
Jon Tammen and Melissa Flaherty in Olympia 2018

Below is the Brief Summary of Engrossed Substitute Bill. I will be sure to post more about Bill SB6037 as it goes for a vote next week!
Surrogacy Agreements.
New provisions are established governing both gestational surrogacy agreements and genetic
surrogacy agreements. A gestational surrogate is a woman who agrees to become pregnant
through assisted reproduction using gametes that are not her own, while a genetic surrogate is a
woman who agrees to become pregnant through assisted reproduction using her own gamete.

In order to act as a surrogate, a woman must:
*be at least 21 years of age;
*have previously given birth to at least one child but not enter into more than two
surrogacy agreements that result in the birth of a child;
*complete a medical evaluation and mental health consultation; and
*have independent legal representation of her choice throughout the surrogacy
arrangement.

Each intended parent under a surrogacy agreement must be at least 21 years of age, complete a
medical evaluation and mental health consultation, and have independent legal representation
throughout the surrogacy arrangement.

House Bill Analysis - 5 - ESSB 6037
A surrogacy agreement must comply with the following requirements:
*at least one party must be a resident of the state, or at least one medical evaluation or
procedure or mental health consultation must occur in the state;
*the agreement must be in a record, signed by each party, and attested by a notarial officer
or witnessed;
*counsel for the woman acting as a surrogate and the intended parent or parents must be
identified in the surrogacy agreement;
*the intended parents must pay for legal representation for the woman acting as a
surrogate; and
*the agreement must be executed before the occurrence of a medical procedure related to
the agreement.

A surrogacy agreement must also comply with other requirements, including that: each intended
parent immediately upon birth will be the parents of the child and assume financial responsibility
for the child, regardless of the number of children born or the gender or mental or physical
condition of each child; and the woman acting as a surrogate must be permitted to make all
health and welfare decisions regarding herself and the pregnancy. A surrogacy agreement may
provide for payment of consideration, reasonable expenses, and reimbursement of expenses if the
agreement is terminated.

Genetic surrogacy agreements must be validated by the superior court in a proceeding
commenced before the assisted reproduction. A party may terminate a surrogacy agreement at
any time before a gamete or embryo transfer. Under a genetic surrogacy agreement, the woman
acting as a surrogate may withdraw consent to the agreement at any time before 48 hours after
the birth of the child by providing each intended parent with notice. A woman acting as a
surrogate is not liable for a penalty or liquidated damages for terminating the agreement except
in a case involving fraud.

Upon birth of a child under a gestational surrogacy agreement, each intended parent is by
operation of law a parent of the child and neither the woman acting as a surrogate nor her spouse
or former spouse is a parent of the child. Each intended parent under a court-validated genetic
surrogacy agreement is a parent of a child conceived under the agreement.

Where an intended parent dies before the gamete or embryo transfer, the intended parent is not a
parent of the child unless the agreement provides otherwise and the transfer occurs not later than
36 months after the death of the intended parent or the birth occurs not later than 45 months after
the death of the intended parent.

A party may institute a proceeding for an order or judgment regarding parentage under a
surrogacy agreement. Provisions are established governing the effect and enforceability of
surrogacy agreements, including the effect of nonvalidated genetic surrogacy agreements and
remedies available for breach of an agreement. Unless otherwise ordered by a court, a petition
and other documents related to a surrogacy agreement are not open to inspection except by the
parties to the proceeding, a child conceived by assisted reproduction under the agreement, their
attorneys, and the State Registrar for Vital Statistics.

Information About Donor. More specific standards are established regarding the requirement for
a gamete bank or fertility clinic to collect and maintain records of a donor's identifying
House Bill Analysis - 6 - ESSB 6037
Information and medical history. A gamete bank or fertility clinic must obtain a declaration from
the donor regarding whether or not the donor agrees to disclose the donor's identity to a child
conceived with the donor's gametes once the child turns 18 years of age. Upon request, a gamete
bank or fertility clinic must make a good faith effort to provide a child conceived by assisted
reproduction access to nonidentifying medical history of the donor and identifying information
of the donor unless the donor signed a declaration stating that the donor does not agree to
disclosure of identifying information.

Other Provisions. The act applies to a pending proceeding to adjudicate parentage commenced
before the effective date of the act for an issue on which a judgment has not been entered.
Regulations are established governing a surrogacy broker that arranges or facilitates surrogacy
transactions if: the surrogacy broker does business in Washington; a surrogate who is a party to a
surrogacy agreement resides in Washington during the term of the agreement; or any medical
procedures under the agreement are performed in Washington.


Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on February 14, 2018.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect on January 1, 2019.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Quick Tips for the Surrogacy Agency Owner -Surrogacy Well Being


I recommend to ALL agencies that I work with (And practiced this myself when I owned an agency) that there is at least 6 to 8 weeks of follow up from the surrogacy agency with each and every Gestational Carrier after her delivery. Call, e-mail, visit if possible. Make sure that she is feeling better and getting back to her own life. Encourage the IPs to check in and share in her healing. This statement is so true and important!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Will You Be Attending the A Family of My Own Fertility and Adoption Conference in Orlando Florida?

Did I mention that I will have a table at A Family of My Own Conference? If you would like a personal consultation regarding information on Surrogacy please e-mail me at SurroMatchFL@aol.com and we can set some time aside while I am in Orlando. I look forward to seeing you there!

Photo

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Winners Announced for the NIAW book drawing of A Surrogacy Helps Make a Family Grow!



A copy of Surrogacy Helps Make a Family Grow! will be sent out to the following 5 lucky winners:


M.C. of Fresno, CA

J.H. of Redmond, WA

T.B. of Lake St. Louis, MO

N.C. of Rockport, ME

and

S.W. of Streetsboro, OH



Thank you to the 182 participants who entered this contest! I will be doing it again very soon!



Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A New Book by Sharon LaMothe for the Children of Surrogates: Surrogacy Helps Make a Family Grow!

I am thrilled to announce that my book, Surrogacy Helps Make a Family Grow!, is available on Amazon.com for those living and working in the world of surrogacy. This heartwarming story is written for the children of surrogate mothers who want to explain to them just how and why they are carrying a baby for another family.
I was a surrogate myself when my own kids were ages 3 and 13 and there were no books out there to help me explain this wonderful selfless act to them. Surrogacy Helps Make a Family Grow! is only 30 pages long and filled with colorful illustrations and makes a perfect 'welcome gift' from agencies, clinics and IPs. For women becoming surrogates themselves, this is a great tool to teach their own children about Gestational Surrogacy and how the whole family makes the dream of a baby come true for those in need.



Anyone wanting to buy 20 books or more please e-mail me at SurroMatchFL@aol.com  for discount details!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Tune IN!! On October 21, The Surrogacy Lawyer Radio will Interview Sharon LaMothe, Author of “Surrogacy Helps a Family Grow,” and Tracy Armato, Conceptual Options Program Director

The Surrogacy Lawyer Radio Program Presents “Talking about Surrogacy to the Children of Surrogates”

On October 21, The Surrogacy Lawyer Radio will interview Sharon LaMothe, author of “Surrogacy Helps a Family Grow,” and Tracy Armato, Conceptual Options Program Director

When a woman decides to become a surrogate mother, she will have many conversations: with members of the surrogacy agency team, the intended parents, the medical and legal professionals involved in her care and with her spouse or partner and other adult relatives and friends, to name a few. But one of the most important conversations she will have is with her children, so she can explain the surrogacy process to them.

On the Thursday, October 21 episode of The Surrogacy Lawyer: Your Guide to IVF and Third Party Reproduction, Theresa Erickson, Esq., will be discussing how surrogate mothers should talk to their children about their pregnancies for another family. Ms. Erickson will interview Sharon LaMothe, a former gestational surrogate and author of the upcoming book Surrogacy Helps a Family Grow, and Tracy Armato, program director of Conceptual Options, The Surrogacy and Egg Donation Center and past surrogate. This episode will air on at 11AM PST/2PM EST on Voice America.

Sharon LaMothe is currently the owner of Infertility Answers, Inc., and the creator of two blogs about third party reproduction. She also owns LaMothe Services, LLC, an assisted reproductive technology business solutions service. Tracy Armato is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of Conceptual Options. Having been a gestational surrogate, Tracy has viewed third party reproduction from both angles and is a key support figure for surrogates.

“As a surrogacy lawyer and owner of a surrogacy and egg donation agency, I am excited about this new tool to help surrogate mothers talk to their children about the amazing gift they are giving another set of parents,“ says attorney Erickson. “Having open and honest conversations about third party reproduction is essential, whether you are a surrogate or egg, sperm or embryo donor. I look forward to advancing the conversation about this important topic.”

About Theresa Erickson, Esq.

Ms. Erickson is the managing partner of Erickson Law and the founder and chair of Conceptual Options, The Surrogacy and Egg Donation Center. In addition, Ms. Erickson is the author of the newly released Surrogacy and Embryo, Sperm, & Egg Donation: What Were You Thinking? Erickson was motivated to write her second book so she could educate potential intended parents, as well as the women who become surrogates and egg donors, about what all parties need to know if they are going to become involved in third party reproduction.

Attorney Erickson is a globally recognized expert in this specialized area of law and is a board member of the American Fertility Association and the legal director of Parents Via Egg Donation. For more information, please visit www.ericksonlaw.net and www.conceptualoptions.com.