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

According to the New Zealand Press Association, a surrogate mother residing in New Zealand may be required to pay support to the Australian government as shown below:

"A New Zealand surrogate mother could be forced to pay child support for the baby she had for two gay Australian men.

It is understood the year-old surrogate baby girl is being raised by her biological father and his male partner in Queensland, who are her legal guardians, the Sunday Star Times reported.

The Australian government had provided some child support benefits for the father to stay home and care for her, as new parents were entitled.

However, the surrogate was tracked down and asked to contribute, which she has refused to do.

Surrogacy is illegal in Queensland and many other parts of Australia."

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Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

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

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I read this post from an attorney in Georgia, who became involved when child support became an issue - yes, child support.  This Surrogate is truly an angel, and let's be glad these types of cases are rare.  I just wanted to add this one to make everyone go - ouch....

"Various issues arise as the concept of surrogacy comes before the legislatures of the country.  One case that I handled for the Attorney General’s Office dealt with a surrogate mother, and is an example of how crazy surrogacy issues can become.  This lady had been hired to have a baby for a multi-millionaire.  He was not married and seemed to be tiring of his fortunes when he decided that he would like to have an heir.  The surrogate mother gave birth to a healthy little girl and the man accepted the child, made payment, and went on his merry way.  Then two months later, the man had one of his “assistants” drop the baby back off at the surrogate mother’s home with a note stating that he simply could not emotionally handle the responsibilities of being a parent. "

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Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

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

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People Magazine reports that Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles has settled with Dennis Quaid for $750,000.00 for the accidental overdose of his twins born via surrogate mother back in 2007.

We are glad to hear that the children have recovered from the medical scare. 

Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

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Well, the Wall Street Journal has another piece on reproductive technologies today, which will likely bring them as much criticism at the New York Times Piece did on Alex Kuczynski. What amazes me the most is how Mr. Frank condemns Mrs. Kuczynski for choosing to use a surrogate mother to have her child, as if she indeed had another option. She is not some Hollywood starlet who chose not to “deal with birth.” In fact, the Hollywood excuse is way over utilized…isn’t pregnancy the new “in” thing for celebrity moms? Oh, how I digress......

Yes, the NYT pictures were the wrong choice – period, but the focus of the piece was her and how she created her family, as she is the one of us that most know. In fact, I found most of her comments, to include those revolving around her vacation before the birth and her ability to drink alcohol while her surrogate could not, as merely attempts to help her better deal with her own issues of not being able to carry her own child. 

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With the media, including the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, focused on how the economy is causing more women to sign up as egg donors and surrogates, our industry needs to be sensitive to this.  Specifically, we need to be certain that these women are doing it for the right reasons, as well as for the money. 

There is quite a bit for them to think about before committing themselves to this process, to include medical risks, the emotional aspects and the time commitment. This process is not an easy buck for anyone, and the reproductive community needs to make certain that we do all that we can that they are thoroughly and adequately informed. 

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Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

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After a 10 week battle, it appears that the Japanese baby girl born through Surrogacy in India will be finally going home to Japan. The Supreme Court in India ruled today that the little girl needs to be issued a passport and travel documents for Japan. The passport office in India stated that the passport and travel documents are being issued stating that the little girl is a citizen of Japan since that is where her father is from and lives. This is a huge decision and a happy one at that.

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As everyone will remember from prior blogs, the little girl born with the help of an Indian surrogate has been kept in India with her paternal grandmother since birth because of a long legal battle. However, it looks like she will finally get all of the paperwork that she needs to finally join her father in Japan.

Hopefully, these reports will turn out to be true and she will finally be able to leave India.

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A judge in the state of Ohio took an encouraging step in the right direction for Assisted Reproduction Law. The judge ruled in favor of a single father, who used IVF and surrogacy to conceive his twins. However, he was not listed on the birth certificate; instead the surrogate was listed as the only known parent because Ohio state law did not recognize surrogacy. The judge in this case rule that the father’s name could be put on the birth certificate as the children’s biological parent. This is a huge step for surrogacy in the state of Ohio.

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Many people thinking about using assisted reproductive technologies to start a family think of almost every possible outcome, except for how much all of it will cost - considering that most, if not all, health insurance policies will not cover assisted reproductive technologies. Even though these expenses are great, and even without the added expenses associated with the use of a surrogate and/or an egg donor, it is still possible for many…IF they just look through their financials and really focus on how much it could possibly cost them and what they can to do to budget and afford these costly, but ultimately priceless expenses.

So, it is best to start early with your own financial assessment and investigate the options available for financing. Yes, they are still out there, despite what is going on with Wall Street. Once that is done, ask questions of your doctor, your agency, your friends, and anyone else that have gone through this - after all, the only dumb question is the one that is never asked.

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It seems as though the same question keeps getting posed to me by both Intended Parents and Surrogates alike.  Once the match is made what happens? 

When the initial call to a surrogate is made to let them know that there are Intended Parents interested in working with them, the time to meet is usually made within a weeks time.  Before they know it the meeting takes place, the next day (sometimes two) the match is made and then what?  This is when patience plays a big part.  While on the management end of the case, we are busy getting the proper paperwork to the Intended Parents, the surrogate is not seeing any action.

It usually takes about a week before we have the right paperwork returned from the Intended Parents in order to send the surrogate the "Match Agreement".  Once the Match Agreement is signed and returned by the surrogate we will provide her with the Referrals to all the professionals she will need to contact.  It is the surrogate's responsibility to contact the Psychologist and the IVF Center to schedule screening appointments that fit their schedule.  While the surrogate is the person making these appointments, it is also very important for us to know these dates as well. 

Once the screening is complete, it is time for the contracts.  The contract phase can take up to four weeks to complete.  Most surrogates get anxious and begin to worry that something went wrong or did the Intended Parents back out, etc....  This is not the case.  It takes time to draft the contract, then the intended parents need to have contract review with their attorney, then it gets forwarded to the surrogate.  At this point it's the surrogate's turn.  She needs to have contract review with her attorney and then any changes are submitted to the intended parent's attorney and the negotiation goes on until all parties are happy with the contract.  Once the contract is in it's final form, this is when it is signed by each party.

Now that contracts are final, the surrogate may start medication.  Now things feel like they're moving again!  The surrogate will be going to the doctor's regularly for blood labs and ultrasound appointments.  Before you know it the Transfer Day will be here. 

Now that the embryo(s) have been transferred, it's time to wait again.  Most doctor's will perform the blood pregnancy test 10 to 14 days after the transfer of the embryos.  And you thought it felt like forever for the contracts to be complete!!!

This of course is just the start. 

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Today is Easter Sunday which typically is a day spent with family.  We usually have a quiet morning and then family starts to arrive for brunch and an afternoon together.  While everyone is at our house, the house is loud and the kids are running from one end of the house to the other.  By the evening everyone is ready to relax and sit quietly.

As a surrogate the holidays have an extra special benefit.  All four (4) families I have helped to have children call me on holidays.  All our lives get busy and the surrogate children, just like my own, grow bigger and have busier schedules.  Through out our day to day lives we don't always make the time to call each other.  So when we do get an opportunity to talk for 10 or 15 minutes it is always appreciated. 

Today when I was on the phone it was amazing to me that all but one of the children could wish me a Happy Easter on their own.  This was extra special.  I was able to talk with five (5) of the six (6) kids I had a hand in bringing into the world.  The sixth is too young, but I did get some baby talk out of her as well.  This makes my heart grow. 

It is moments like today that truly make me appreciate all I have. 

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