Indiana Family Lawyer Blog
While surrogacy is not legal in many parts of the world, there are also countries, like Israel, that allow some, but not all citizens, to become parents through surrogacy. Under current Israeli law, only heterosexual partners can enter surrogacy agreements, with an amendment in the works that would allow single woman to legally use surrogacy. This means that in Israel, same-sex couples and single men cannot become parents using a surrogate.
In 2015, two activist groups filed a petition to get rid of the ban on surrogacy for same-sex couples. The hearing was scheduled for July 20, 2017, but has been pushed back to September 19, 2017. The Israeli Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry has said they “will take the position that the prohibition on same-sex surrogacy is not about discrimination, and it is more complicated.” They are suggesting a complete redo of the current foster care system, and argue that “only after the reform should lawmakers be asked to change the laws in favor of additional groups.” Udi Ledergor, Chairman of the Associates of Israeli Gay Fathers, said “We will continue to fight until we have removed the darkness and discrimination.” Check back on our blog in the coming months for more information on the Ministry’s decision, as it becomes available.
The attorneys of Harden Jackson Law are devoted to servicing clients in all areas of family law, including divorce, custody, child support, property division, paternity, post-divorce modifications, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, simple wills, adoption, surrogacy, and other areas of reproductive law. For more information, please contact us at 317.569.0770 or www.hardenjacksonlaw.com.
ocial media site, Pinterest, recently added adoption and surrogacy benefits for its 500 employees. Pinterest’s employees will be eligible to receive up to $5,000 in adoption reimbursement and up to $20,000 for surrogacy benefits. Pinterest already provides 16 weeks of paid parental leave, as well as up to $20,000 in fertility benefits. 
Nevada recently passed a new law that significantly improves surrogacy and adoption laws in the state. First, it gender neutralizes all adoption and assisted reproductive technology statutes. The law, effective July 1, 2017, will now refer to an “acknowledgment of paternity” as an “acknowledgment of parentage.” This strips away the old language and allows the law to recognize the variety of family types and structures that exist today. Nevada attorney Kimberly Mae Surratt, who helped get these laws passed, commented, “we gender neutralized every single statute in the State of Nevada and it was done with bipartisan support.” The changes in adoption laws include that petitioners to an adoption don’t have to live in the state of Nevada to adopt in the Nevada, which used to only allow non-residents petitioners to adopt if the child was in custody of an agency which provided child welfare services.
New York Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin have proposed a new bill, The Child Parent Security Act (“CSPA”), that would remove the ban on compensated surrogacy and provide a clear mechanism for intended parents legal rights to obtain legal rights to their child born through gestational surrogacy. When the requirements in the law are met, Intended parents can receive an “Order of Parentage” from a court which becomes effective immediately after birth of the child. Additionally, the bill would provide for the enforcement of contractual agreements between the gestational surrogate and the intended parents. The CSPA would significantly change surrogacy law in New York, which is one of only five states that where compensated surrogacy is illegal. 
In just a few short weeks, the Supreme Court of Iceland will rule on its first surrogacy case involving two women who wish to be recognized as the legal parents of their child born via gestational surrogacy. A U.S. surrogate carried the same-sex couple’s child, which was created using donor egg and sperm. The baby was born in 2013 and received a US passport and citizenship. The intended mothers established their legal parentage in the U.S., but things became complicated when the mothers tried to return to Iceland with the child. Surrogacy is illegal in Iceland, and when the mothers tried to register their child as an Icelandic citizen and themselves as the child’s legal parents, the National Registry of Iceland rejected the registration attempt. Although the child eventually received Icelandic citizenship and an identity number, the mothers sued the National Registry and the Icelandic State because they were only granted a fostering agreement rather than legal parentage.
As gestational surrogacy continues to increase in the United States, so do opportunities to observe its trends and outcomes. Many states presently permit gestational surrogacy, although the laws vary by state and are rapidly evolving. Researchers from the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility