Well I must apologize for being very bad about blogging this past month. I was in San Francisco for the ASRM meeting and then up to Boston to check on Dad who has had some real health issues this summer.
San Francisco was great to visit and I had not been back there since I left to join Long Island IVF in 1996. There is a pretty high freaky person quotient around the convention center and the weather was pretty cold and rainy but it was good to see old friends.
Several topics were on my mind and I will address these in future posts. Today I want to address an issue that was new to me and that is the relationship between genetic parents and their gestational carrier.
Using a gestational carrier represents an option of last resort for some couples but it can lead to some very heart-warming outcomes. Unfortunately, there can be some really bizarre legal cases as a result of the use of gestational carriers so it pays to have good legal advice. One piece of helpful advice was to make sure that the gestational carrier and the genetic parents of the embryo secure separate legal counsel. Just as you should have separate attorneys for a home purchase, so also should you have separate attorneys in this case.
I suppose that this makes sense but I feel bad to add yet another expense to the couple who is using a gestational carrier. On the other hand, going to court for years because of some misunderstanding in the contract between the parties isn't so great either!
I am interested in hearing from all of you that have opinions on this issue: Does your gestational carrier have her own legal representation?
More on hot topics from the ASRM real soon!
DrG
San Francisco was great to visit and I had not been back there since I left to join Long Island IVF in 1996. There is a pretty high freaky person quotient around the convention center and the weather was pretty cold and rainy but it was good to see old friends.
Several topics were on my mind and I will address these in future posts. Today I want to address an issue that was new to me and that is the relationship between genetic parents and their gestational carrier.
Using a gestational carrier represents an option of last resort for some couples but it can lead to some very heart-warming outcomes. Unfortunately, there can be some really bizarre legal cases as a result of the use of gestational carriers so it pays to have good legal advice. One piece of helpful advice was to make sure that the gestational carrier and the genetic parents of the embryo secure separate legal counsel. Just as you should have separate attorneys for a home purchase, so also should you have separate attorneys in this case.
I suppose that this makes sense but I feel bad to add yet another expense to the couple who is using a gestational carrier. On the other hand, going to court for years because of some misunderstanding in the contract between the parties isn't so great either!
I am interested in hearing from all of you that have opinions on this issue: Does your gestational carrier have her own legal representation?
More on hot topics from the ASRM real soon!
DrG
