Typically, biological relationships govern who is considered to be a legal parent to a minor child. Therefore, it is critically important that prospective intended parents who are interested in having children through assisted reproduction technology by using donor sperm, donor eggs, surrogates or gestational carriers, speak with an attorney who is knowledgeable about this new and emerging area of law. The attorneys of Jerner & Palmer, P.C. practice on the cutting edge of this field and have helped clients form their families in a variety of different ways, ensuring that intended parents obtain legal rights to the children they are creating through assisted reproduction.
The firm has represented intended parents from the United States and from foreign countries who utilize assisted reproduction technology in the United States.
The firm also represents surrogates, gestational carriers, egg donors and sperm donors.
Attorney Tiffany Palmer is a fellow of the American Academy of Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, a credentialed, professional organization dedicated to the advancement of best legal practices in the area of assisted reproduction.
Alternative Insemination with Known and Anonymous Sperm Donors
Jerner & Palmer, P.C. has represented same-sex couples, married couples and transgender individuals in forming families through alternative insemination and the use of both anonymous and known sperm donors. The attorneys of Jerner & Palmer, P.C. have drafted known sperm donor insemination contracts for clients and subsequently obtained terminations of the known donors' parental rights through second-parent adoptions.
Surrogacy
Jerner & Palmer, P.C. has represented same-sex couples seeking to become parents through the use of a traditional surrogate, whereby a woman agrees to conceive and carry a child through pregnancy and then place the child for adoption with the intended parents.
Gestational Carrier Actions
Jerner and Palmer, P.C. has represented same-sex couples seeking to become parents through the use of a gestational carrier, whereby a woman agrees to carry a child, conceived through assisted reproduction using an egg donor, for the intended parents. Lesbian couples have been able to use the Gestational Carrier Action process in cases where one partner is acting as the gestational carrier for the couple and is pregnant with a child conceived using the egg of the other partner. Therefore, the partner who is pregnant is not the genetic parent of the child, but her partner is the genetic parent of the child. In many counties in Pennsylvania, the intended parents may petition the court for a pre-birth order to name the intended parents as legal parents and to have the intended parents' names appear on the original birth certificate of the child.
Beware attorneys who may try to sell pre-birth order services when a gestational carrier is not involved. When one woman is pregnant with a child conceived using her own egg, her partner may not obtain legal parental rights using a process known as "pre-birth order." In Pennsylvania, second-parent adoption is the only way to secure legal rights for a non-biological mother.
In cases where one woman is acting as the gestational carrier for she and her partner and is pregnant with a child conceived using the egg of her partner, a pre-birth order may be obtained in some counties in Pennsylvania.
If you live in Pennsylvania and are trying to determine whether your situation qualifies as eligible for a pre-birth order, consult with an attorney at Jerner & Palmer, P.C . or with another attorney experienced in the complex area of assisted reproductive technology law, such as a fellow of the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology attorneys.
For more information call us at (215)843-6000 or at (856)817-6030 or fill out our Contact Form. |
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