Family Expansion Through Assisted Reproduction Technology

If you want to become a parent but have run into obstacles, there is hope. In recent years, an entirely new field of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has opened up, creating options for growing your family through surrogacy, preplanned adoption and other newly-available avenues.

ART addresses fertility issues to enable people to become parents using their own or donors’ genetic materials. It is not the same as artificial insemination using donated sperm. Rather, the fertility treatments involved in ART consist of removing eggs from women’s bodies, fertilizing them to create embryos and implanting the embryos in those women’s or surrogates’ bodies.

Why You Need Legal Guidance

If you and your spouse or partner, or you alone, are planning to pursue ART as a path to parenthood, you are well advised to have an attorney from the start. The same is true if you hope to be a surrogate. If you attempt to skip steps that the law requires, you may end up spending more time than you hoped to achieve your goal, or your assisted reproduction plans may be thwarted altogether.

To schedule a consultation with our family law attorney, Spenser R. Housewright, call 972-665-3156 or send an email inquiry for a prompt response. Attorney Housewright has the in-depth knowledge and compassionate approach you are looking for during this important time of your life.

An Introduction To Biological And Legal Considerations For ART In Texas

Each state has jurisdiction-specific laws to follow regarding ART. For example, in Texas:

• An egg donor is not considered a legal parent of any resulting baby.
• If a husband donates his sperm to be used in ART for the implantation of an embryo in his wife or consents to ART by his wife, he is legally the father of the resulting child.
• A married woman must have a statement on record with the state giving her consent to her husband’s participation in assisted reproduction. (That is, if his sperm will fertilize another woman’s egg to create an embryo to be implanted in herself or a surrogate.)
• A married woman who will donate her eggs for ART purposes with another woman as an intended parent or surrogate does not need to have a statement signed by herself and her husband on file.

Navigating these and other requirements and limitations is not a job for amateurs – not even well-meaning medical personnel. It is important to have the counsel of a family lawyer. Your own attorney will discover and respond to unique aspects of your situation, giving you the reassurance that you need as you enter into a surrogacy contract or preplanned adoption and address other details.

Get Started Gathering On Your ART Journey

Spenser Housewright has the knowledge and sympathetic understanding to help you embark on the ART family-building journey. There is no substitute for customized legal counsel for intended parents and surrogates who need personalized guidance with surrogacy contracts and adoptions.

To schedule a consultation, call or send an email inquiry to the Shapiro Law Firm.