Friday Legal Updates™- Surrogacy/Adoption Scam, Dr. Phil, and IVF/Embryo Adoption Law Updates

Surrogacy, Embryo Donation, & Dr. Phil - well, it has been a slow week for news, but again the legislation that is being considered in Tennessee and Oklahoma should cause us all to pause - patients and industry professionals alike. TGIF!

Chicago - A Federal Appeals Court has upheld the conviction (rightly so) of a woman who scammed would-be parents by posing as a pregnant woman seeking to place her baby for adoption. She also responded to ads placed by people looking for surrogate mothers with the false claim that she was already pregnant and was planning to give the baby up for adoption. Beware and be careful out there.

http://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/news/get_story_text.cfm?id=100008183

Dr. Phil - More on the Michigan Surrogacy Debacle - Should a mental illness prevent a woman from being a mother? Shelly made headlines when she agreed to be a surrogate for Amy and Scott, but later reclaimed the babies when she says she discovered that Amy had a mental disorder. It’s an emotional Dr. Phil you don’t want to miss!

http://drphil.com/shows/show/1397

Oklahoma - The state is considering an embryo adoption law similar to Georgia. As we know this is disasterous as it increased costs to the Intended Parents. Take action!

http://okcamericansunited.blogspot.com/2010/02/readers-until-we-can-get-...

Tennessee - This state is also following Georgia with bills on both the Senate and House Floors. However, the House Bill does not make an adoption petition required, and it does have some good points, such as the maintenance of records for 21 years and the right of the child to obtain information at the age of 18 years. It does require a written contract. This bill is much easier to stomach, and actually would do alot of the things that are needed in this industry, including maintenance of records and release of information at the age of majority.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100205/OPINION03/2050324/1008/OPINIO...

Italy - The Italian Court has modified the legislation on Assisted Reproduction by finding the previous legislation regarding the protection of all embryos to be unconstitutional. The future of this is unknown, as it appears that the Parliment will now need to step in, which is unlikely

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B986R-4XX1617-D...

Another great place to watch for legislative updates and where to find a place to help join the fight is Resolve - Take Action!

http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ta_home