Egg Donor & Surrogacy Consulting Blog : Egg Donation & Surrogacy Consulting : Conceptual Options : Theresa Erickson : Embryo Donation, In-Vitro Fertilization

Wow, can you believe that summer is officially over already?  I can't because of the blistering heat here in Southern California; however, another Friday is upon us with some legal updates for your thoughts and comments.

Florida - Last November, Colorado pro-life groups placed a ballot measure before the voters in order to extend "personhood" to the moment of conception.  This amendment was rejected by 73% of the voters in Colorado; however, the groups have now set their sites on Florida.  The new amendment would define even a newly formed embryo as a person.  The implications of this becoming law is an issue those suffering from infertility and living in Florida need to consider. 

Wisconsin - Two women have filed a case in Wisconsin where their insurers have denied them maternity coverage due to the fact that they were surrogates.  This issue is now before the State Supreme Court, so we will have to wait and see how this one ends and if it will have implications elsewhere. 

UK - Women whose embryos were to be destroyed in the next few weeks have been given an extension.  With the new HFEA of 2008, which comes into force on October 1, everyone with embryos in storage will be able to keep them there for a decade versus the previous law of 5 years.  "These new rules will come into effect on October 1 and I will be seeking to make an Order to Parliament to ensure this applies to embryos that are 'out of time' on that date."

Professor Lisa Jardine, chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), said: "I am delighted that the Government has listened and made this common-sense decision.

"This will be an enormous relief to all of those people who faced the heartbreak of seeing their embryos destroyed all because of a matter of timing. We will be contacting clinics immediately so that they can inform the patients concerned and make appropriate arrangements for the continued storage of their embryos."

Croatia - The government moved Thursday to amend a law involving IVF after strong criticism from human rights and parents groups over its criteria for couples entitled to treatment. 

"Under the amendments forwarded to parliament, couples will now only have to sign a notarised statement confirming they are in a relationship rather than have to prove before a court they have been together for three years, Health Minister Darko Milinovic told a cabinet session.

Also as part of the changes, children conceived by donated eggs or sperm will now be allowed to obtain information about his or her biological parents once turning 18 only if donors have given their prior agreement.

However provisions in the law which ban the freezing of embryos will not be altered.

Croatia's original legislation on medically assisted reproduction dates back to 1978, when the world's first test-tube baby was born. The former Yugoslav republic had its first IVF baby five years later."

Subscribe to my blog here.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

It seems like I have been doing legal updates all week with the Georgia embryo legislation.  However, I do have some updates on that state, as well as a few others.  Let me know your thoughts on each one, as I think that the evolution of this field is rapidly progressing, and we all need a voice.

Georgia - HB 388 passed the House and is on its way to the Senate.  It is essentially creating an embryo adoption format for the donation of embryos to others.  As for SB169, many revisions have been made, and we will have to see where it goes.  Resolve made the following update via their site:

"UPDATE:  The Georgia Senate passed a revised SB 169 bill today, and the bill will now move to the Georgia House.  Earlier today the Senate voted to table SB 169 which essentially took the bill out of further consideration by the Senate during this legislative session.  During a break in the Senate chamber, the bill was revised once again and re-introduced.   It was then voted on and passed 34 to 22.  RESOLVE and its partners are now studying the revised SB 169 to determine the affect on infertility patients in Georgia.  Once we have given the bill careful review, RESOLVE will provide a full analysis and what the next steps should be. 

THANK YOU to the thousands of people around the country that cared about this issue.  Georgia residents responded to our call to action with passion.   NEARLY 100,000 letters, faxes, and emails were sent to Georgia Senators, BY Georgia residents, in the past 9 days.    Hundreds of phone calls were made, and the infertility community in Georgia showed up when it mattered.  We thank each and every one of you for what you have done.  You have inspired the entire country with your activism.    You are an inspiration.  You have shown us that our voice matters and our voice will be heard."

Missouri - As in Georgia, the legislature in Missouri is pushing to restrict stem cell research.  In SB 3219, lawmakers are trying to make certain that research in not done on human embryos in their state.  The bill comes in response to the President's lifting of restrictions on stem cell research. 

Quebec - Born to Surrogate, Child has No Legal Mother, Quebec Judge Rules

A Quebec woman has no legal right to the child she paid a surrogate mother to carry for her, a judge has ruled, leaving the child without a legal mother.  The judge made this decision based on the fact that the husband's sperm had been used to fertilize the surrogate's egg - leaving the husband with the only claim to the child.  In addition, surrogacy is illegal in Quebec. 

UK - Government intends to prevent donor-egg children from contacting half siblings until they are 18 

Strict rules proposed by the Government's fertility clinic watchdog is causing quite a stir from patient groups.  It appears that couples have been doing this for some time, and HFEA wants to close a loophole. 

Subscribe to my blog at: http://www.surrogacyeggdonorblog.com/subscribe.html

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Hospital officials in Japan have reported that a Japanese woman was likely impregnated with the fertilized egg of another woman by accident during an in vitro procedure last year. 

According to the Associated Press, the woman, who is in her 20s, aborted the pregnancy when she was told of the potential mix-up at the government-run hospital in Kagawa prefecture, about 330 miles southwest of Tokyo.

"She is now suing the local government for 20 million yen ($222,000), according to news reports.  Hospital officials apologized for the mistake at a news conference Thursday.

"She was very happy after undergoing such a difficult procedure and becoming pregnant, but unfortunately a mistake had been made," said Yuzo Matsumoto, director of the Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital.

The hospital has a long history of carrying out such procedures, and this is the first time such a mistake has occurred, hospital spokesman Hajime Morishita said.

"The in vitro procedures are carried out in sequence one after the other, and in this case the eggs from one procedure may have accidentally been left over and used in the following procedure," he said.

In vitro procedures — in which a woman's eggs are removed, fertilized outside the womb, and placed in her uterus to cause a pregnancy — are common in Japan, with hundreds of thousands carried out per year.

The case drew wide attention because bearing and raising children who are not related to the mother is uncommon and has been discouraged by Japanese medical groups.

Surrogate births, in which eggs are removed for fertilization and implanted in another woman, and adoptions are rare in the country."

All I can say is wow, this woman was courageous for handling this issue in the way that she did.  This could have caused an entirely different set of issues for her to deal with, as well as the rest of the people involved.  Unfortunately, an abortion had to occur to solve this.  What are your thoughts?

Click Here for Complete Article

Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy Lawyer & Egg Donation Lawyer 
www.EricksonLaw.net

Subscribe to my blog at: http://www.surrogacyeggdonorblog.com/subscribe.html

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link