Adoption and Surrogate Pregnancy (Global Issues (Facts on File))

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Legislative direction through passage of relevant statutes is clearly the best course of action. Wisconsin needs to pursue such legislation. Case law is simply too random to be reliable. An example of a state with a surrogacy law that has many positive features is Illinois, whose legislature passed the Gestational Surrogacy Act in The surrogate mother must be at least 21 years old, and she must have given birth to at least one child before acting as a surrogate.

The surrogate must have undergone a complete medical evaluation before serving as a surrogate parent, and she must also undergo a mental health evaluation before commencing the process. The surrogate must have received independent legal advice regarding the terms and legal consequences of the gestational surrogacy.

Finally, she must have health insurance that covers major medical treatments and hospitalization.

Mar 01, 2012

The intended parents must contribute at least one of the gametes egg or sperm required to produce the child. They must have a medical need for the gestational surrogacy , and they must have undergone a mental health evaluation. Finally, they must also consult with legal counsel regarding the terms and legal consequences of the gestational surrogacy. There obviously are some holes in the Illinois statute.

For example, it only addresses gestational surrogacy and does not mention traditional surrogacy agreements. Also, it does not address any services that might be available for gamete donors, such as psychological screening or counseling services. There is no requirement that prospective donors obtain a medical examination. It also gives courts guidelines to follow when confronted with such agreements. All papers and records pertaining to the insemination, whether part of the permanent record of a court or of a file held by the supervising physician or elsewhere, may be inspected only upon an order of the court for good cause shown.

If the registrant of a birth certificate under this section is born as a result of artificial insemination under the requirements of s. If the registrant is born as a result of artificial insemination which does not satisfy the requirements of s. If the registrant of a birth certificate under this section is born to a surrogate mother, information about the surrogate mother shall be entered on the birth certificate and the information about the father shall be omitted from the birth certificate.

Upon receipt of the report, the state registrar shall prepare and register a new birth certificate to the local registrar who filed the original certificate.

Upon receipt of the copy, the local registrar shall destroy his or her copy of the replaced certificate and file the new certificate. Where a child is conceived by artificial insemination, the husband of the mother of the child at the time of the conception of the child is the natural father of the child, as provided in s. The arguments are not strong, however, and they only suggest the validity of these processes under Wisconsin law. The Wisconsin statutes do not specifically outline a procedure that respects the rights of the parties and the child.

Because these types of scenarios are becoming more common, legislation is needed to bring clarity to the process. In the prefatory note to the model act, the drafting committee cited a California appellate opinion in an effort to outline the problems courts are facing:. Whatever merit there may be to a fact-driven case-by-case resolution of each new issue, some over-all legislative guidelines would allow the participants to make informed choices and the court to strive for uniformity in their decisions.

The model act contains 12 separate articles, which address the following topics: One area of the surrogacy process that has invited a great deal of debate is the payment of compensation to gamete donors and surrogates. As noted above, comparing surrogacy cases to adoption situations is illustrative, and such a comparison concerning compensation can be very helpful.

The surrogacy process, however, is not identical to the adoption process. The surrogacy process involves a well thought-out decision, by a woman who otherwise might not have chosen to have a child, to carry a child for someone else and immediately surrender the child to that person or persons. In a common adoption situation, the biological mother does not plan to get pregnant, or she decides, once she gets pregnant, that raising the child to adulthood is something she cannot handle.

Providing compensation to a surrogate seems less egregious than enticing a mother, who may be unsure of her decision to put the child up for adoption, with financial remuneration if she surrenders her child. Thus, some states permit surrogacy agreements in which there is no compensation but not agreements in which there is compensation. Clearly, sperm donors should not receive as much compensation as egg donors because the egg-donation process is much more intensive in terms of time and medical procedures.

Surrogates would be entitled to relatively more compensation because of time commitment and risk. The Model Act approach — allowing for payment of a reasonable amount of compensation to semen donors, egg donors, and surrogates — seems appropriate, given the time and risk involved in these procedures. Failure to provide some form of financial compensation, over and above that needed to reimburse the donors and surrogates for medical expenses, would likely result in a decrease in the number of people willing to participate in this process and a decrease in the ability of infertile people to raise a child.

The Model Act is very comprehensive. As with any model legislation, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution for the states. However, it provides a basis for the Wisconsin legislature to build on. It offers protection to donors, surrogates, and intended parents. Such protection includes requiring specific informed consent of all participants, including explanation of health risks, mental health examinations for all participants, health insurance for surrogates both during and for a brief period after the birth, and legal consultations for the parties.

Most significantly, however, the Model Act approach offers protection to children. Not only does it ensure good prenatal care by requiring health insurance for the surrogate, but it also provides predictability in the process. Parents who are calm and unconcerned about litigation will certainly be more successful at their parenting responsibilities. Children born as a result of surrogacy deserve a level of protection that they are not offered under Wisconsin law. Finally, one issue that has given rise to significant debate is whether same-sex couples should be allowed to engage the services of surrogates for the purpose of raising children.

Many unmarried couples have children together. Some states have resolved this issue by indicating that only married persons may use the surrogacy process. To the extent this issue is a concern, Wisconsin could address it by indicating that two or more people are not permitted to enter into such an agreement unless they are married.

Viewpoint: Wisconsin's Undeveloped Surrogacy Law

Single people would, under this type of statute, be permitted to obtain a child by the surrogacy process, similar to the adoption process in which single people are able to adopt. However, two intended parents could not enter into such agreements unless they were married. Such a resolution seems the most effective way for Wisconsin to address this issue. The Wisconsin legislature would be wise to at least take up the issues related to reproductive technology.

Clearly, some legislation is needed to address surrogacy agreements to ensure that when the surrogacy process is used, the courts and the parties understand the expectations and limitations under Wisconsin law. For example, many states differentiate between gestational and traditional surrogacy or require that the intended parents be married to each other. These nuances have not been considered in this categorization. Illinois requires that the agreement be in writing. The agreement must be executed before the beginning of any medical procedures. Both the surrogate and the intended parents must sign written acknowledgment that they received information about the legal, financial, and contractual rights, expectations, penalties, and obligations for the surrogacy agreement.

Compensation terms must be outlined, and there must be two witnesses. Matter of Baby M. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Turn on more accessible mode. Turn off more accessible mode. Top Link Bar About Us.

Mar 01, Archive Issue. Highlights The Wisconsin Family Code book puts the statutes practicing attorneys need most in one convenient place. Hiring and Firing in Wisconsin gives you a comprehensive overview of the laws governing employee screening, hiring, and employment termination from both state and federal perspectives.

Accordingly, a woman who meets only the second condition may be considered an adoptive mother, and those who meet only the third a surrogacy mother. The above concepts defining the role of mother are neither exhaustive nor universal, as any definition of 'mother' may vary based on how social, cultural, and religious roles are defined.

The parallel conditions and terms for males: Mother and fatherhood are not limited to those who are or have parented. Women who are pregnant may be referred to as expectant mothers or mothers-to-be, though such applications tend to be less readily applied to biological fathers or adoptive parents. Biological motherhood for humans , as in other mammals , occurs when a pregnant female gestates a fertilized ovum the "egg".

A female can become pregnant through sexual intercourse after she has begun to ovulate.

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In well-nourished girls, menarche the first menstrual period usually takes place around the age of 12 or Typically, a fetus develops from the viable zygote , resulting in an embryo. Gestation occurs in the woman's uterus until the fetus assuming it is carried to term is sufficiently developed to be born.

In humans, gestation is often around 9 months in duration, after which the woman experiences labor and gives birth. This is not always the case, however, as some babies are born prematurely , late, or in the case of stillbirth , do not survive gestation. Usually, once the baby is born, the mother produces milk via the lactation process.

The mother's breast milk is the source of antibodies for the infant's immune system , and commonly the sole source of nutrition for newborns before they are able to eat and digest other foods; older infants and toddlers may continue to be breastfed, in combination with other foods, which should be introduced from approximately six months of age.

Childlessness is the state of not having children.

Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance. Childlessness may be voluntary childlessness , which occurs by choice, or may be involuntary due to health problems or social circumstances. Motherhood is usually voluntary, but may also be the result of forced pregnancy , such as pregnancy from rape. Unwanted motherhood occurs especially in cultures which practice forced marriage and child marriage. Mother can often apply to a woman other than the biological parent, especially if she fulfills the main social role in raising the child.

This is commonly either an adoptive mother or a stepmother the biologically unrelated partner of a child's father. The term " othermother " or "other mother" is also used in some contexts for women who provide care for a child not biologically their own in addition to the child's primary mother. Adoption, in various forms, has been practiced throughout history, even predating human civilization.

In recent decades, international adoptions have become more and more common. Adoption in the United States is common and relatively easy from a legal point of view compared to other Western countries. A surrogate mother is a woman who bears a child that came from another woman's fertilized ovum on behalf of a couple unable to give birth to children.

Thus the surrogate mother carries and gives birth to a child that she is not the biological mother of. Surrogate motherhood became possible with advances in reproductive technologies , such as in vitro fertilization. Not all women who become pregnant via in vitro fertilization are surrogate mothers. Surrogacy involves both a genetic mother, who provides the ovum, and a gestational or surrogate mother, who carries the child to term.

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The possibility for lesbian and bisexual women in same-sex relationships or women without a partner to become mothers has increased over the past few decades [ when? Modern lesbian parenting a term that somewhat erases the bisexual case originated with women who were in heterosexual relationships who later identified as lesbian or bisexual, as changing attitudes provided more acceptance for non-heterosexual relationships.

Another way for such women to become mothers is through adopting or foster parenting. There is also the option of self- insemination and clinically assisted donor insemination, forms of artificial insemination. As fertility technology has advanced, more females not in a heterosexual relationship have become mothers through in vitro fertilization.

The social roles associated with motherhood are variable across time, culture, and social class. In many cultures, women received significant help in performing these tasks from older female relatives, such as mothers in law or their own mothers. Regarding women in the workforce , mothers often entail a mommy track rather than being entirely " career women ".

Mothers may be stay at home mothers or working mothers. In recent decades there has been an increase in stay at home fathers too. Social views on these arrangements vary significantly by culture: Mothers' rights within the workforce include maternity leave and parental leave. The social role and experience of motherhood varies greatly depending upon location. Mothers are more likely than fathers to encourage assimilative and communion-enhancing patterns in their children.

Since the s, in vitro fertilization has made pregnancy possible at ages well beyond "natural" limits, generating ethical controversy and forcing significant changes in the social meaning of motherhood. Traditionally, and still in most parts of the world today, a mother was expected to be a married woman, with birth outside of marriage carrying a strong social stigma.

Historically, this stigma not only applied to the mother, but also to her child. This continues to be the case in many parts of the developing world today, but in many Western countries the situation has changed radically, with single motherhood being much more socially acceptable now. For more details on these subjects, see Legitimacy family law and single parent. The total fertility rate TFR , that is, the number of children born per woman, differs greatly from country to country.

The TFR in was estimated to be highest in Niger 7. A maternal death is defined by WHO as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes". In , the organization Save the Children has ranked the countries of the world, and found that Scandinavian countries are the safest places to give birth, whereas countries in sub-Saharan Africa are the least safe to give birth.

The most recent data suggests that Italy , Sweden and Luxembourg are the safest countries in terms of maternal death and Afghanistan , Central African Republic and Malawi are the most dangerous. Childbirth is an inherently dangerous and risky procedure, subject to many complications. The "natural" mortality rate of childbirth—where nothing is done to avert maternal death—has been estimated as being deaths per , births. In modern Western countries the current maternal mortality rate is around 10 deaths per , births. Nearly all world religions define tasks or roles for mothers through either religious law or through the glorification of mothers who served in substantial religious events.

There are many examples of religious law relating to mothers and women. Major world religions which have specific religious law or scriptural canon regarding mothers include:

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