Archives for December 2015

Pennsylvania Woman Loses Surrogacy Contract Appeal

A Pennsylvania woman who entered into a gestational surrogacy agreement with her then-husband and a gestational surrogate has been declared to be the legal mother of the child. The Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld the ruling of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in mid-November, ruling against actress and television personality Sherri Shepherd.

According to court documents, Shepherd and her then-husband, Lamar Sally, sought out reproductive surrogacy services shortly after their marriage in 2012. They were matched with Jessica Bartholomew, who carried the child to term. Shepherd and Sally filed court documents to have them named as parents on the child’s birth certificate, but Shepherd refused to sign the documents, citing marital difficulties. Bartholomew then asked the court to enter an order declaring Shepherd and Sally to be the legal parents. Shepherd claimed that the gestational surrogacy contract was unenforceable, but the trial court disagreed, as did the Superior Court.

In her appeal, Shepherd claimed that Pennsylvania law does not allow “parentage by contract” and that the surrogacy agreement could therefore not be enforced. The Superior Court rejected that argument, citing Ferguson v. McKiernan, where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court allowed an oral agreement between a mother and a sperm donor to be enforceable. The court concluded that the surrogacy agreement had full force of law, and that Shepherd’s failure to sign documents designating her as legal parent were in breach of that agreement.

Counsel for Lamar Sally told the court that Sally has been raising the child as a single parent since birth and that Shepherd has had no contact with the child.

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More State Legislatures Looking at Surrogacy Laws

New York and Washington, DC are two of just a few states that outlaw commercial surrogacy and are considering new legislation that would allow women and couples to pay a third party to carry a child for them.

In Washington, DC, Councilmember Charles Allen introduced the Collaborative Reproduction Act of 2015, calling the nation’s capital “out of step” with its own commitment to family and equality. Allen says his proposed statute includes input from a broad spectrum of interests, such as the Family Equality Council and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

In New York, legislators are waiting for recommendations from a task force, looking at whether they should overturn former governor Mario Cuomo’s 1992 ban on commercial surrogacy. State Senator Brad Hoylman, an openly gay father thanks to surrogacy, has introduce a bill that would allow surrogacy agreements in the state. Opponents argue that nothing has changed since the 1992 ban and the laws should stay as they are. They contend that allowing commercial surrogacy transforms children into products to be bought and sold.

Currently, there is little uniformity in state laws governing surrogacy contracts. Eight states expressly permit the practice, including Oregon, which has become a destination for individuals and couples worldwide to travel to enter into an agreement with a gestational surrogate. Other states allowing surrogacy include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada and Rhode Island. California even allows the parties to avoid any adoption proceedings.

Aside from New York and DC, three other states specifically ban the practice, New Jersey, Michigan and Washington state. Lawmakers in New Jersey approved a commercial surrogacy law last June, but Governor Chris Christie vetoed the bill, saying he was not satisfied with how legislators had dealt with the details of the practice.

Contact Our Office

To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail. For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.

Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.