NJ Senate attempts to define legal rights of surrogate parenting

Your Bergen County family law attorneys are keen on updating you with the latest in state senate news. A new bill is set to help formulate a few unanswered questions since it’s veto by Governor Christie in 2012.

With surrogacy being legal in the state of NJ, many had questioned how the law affects advancements in the parenting method, specifically with the incline of gestational carrier arrangements. In these cases, the woman who bores the expected child does not in fact share any DNA the child, and thus has led to many disputes between families. Clarification about legal rights need to be precedented moving forward, and proposed bill S866 is attempted to do so.

If you find yourself in need of a family law attorney, contact us for a free consultation today.

After Christie veto, Senate panel tries again to clarify N.J.’s surrogate parenting law

Source: NJ.com

State lawmakers are once again pushing for a new law that would clarify the legal rights and responsibilities of women who agree to become “gestational carriers” for infertile parents in New Jersey.

Surrogacy is legal in New Jersey — home to the the 1988 landmark Baby M case that struck down the surrogate parenting contract as illegal and unenforceable.

But without a law that recognizes the advances in fertility treatments and the rise of gestational carrier arrangements — in which a woman gives birth to a child that does not shares her DNA — couples have gone to court to protect their interests and walked away disappointed, said state Sen. Joseph Vitale, sponsor of a bill that cleared the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee Monday.

“For men and women that struggle to get pregnant, gestational carriers can be a path to the family and children they have always dreamed of,” said state Sen. Joseph Vitale, (D-Middlesex), who sponsored the bill and chairs the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.

“By providing a framework for gestational carrier agreements to be written, we can protect all parties involved in these contracts — from the intended parents, to the women carrying the baby, to, most importantly, the children born from these agreements,” he said.

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