The Political Landscape of In Vitro Fertilization

In Vitro Fertilization and the Changing Political Landscape

Infertility affects millions of Americans who want to start a family. For many of these people, the path forward is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) technology, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF represents more than 99% of the ART procedures performed annually in the U.S., but the overturning of Roe v. Wade has cast doubt on whether these procedures are still legal.

What Is IVF?

IVF treatment involves a series of procedures through which pregnancy is possible. It is a treatment for infertility and also a means of preventing passing on negative genetic traits. The process involves fertilizing mature eggs with sperm in a lab. The fertilized eggs are then implanted in a female in the hopes of making her pregnant. That female may be the mother. It can also be a surrogate in cases where the mother would not be able to carry the baby to term.

Is IVF Legal?

While there are state laws that prohibit embryo research, there have historically been no state laws in the U.S. that forbid IVF. It is important to note that not all states have made IVF explicitly legal. This important particularly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. That allowed the triggering of state laws that were on the books but suppressed up until that point. None of those trigger laws prohibit IVF. Most were written long before IVF was a concept. However, many of them include language that may open the doors for IVF to be illegalized in those states.

The Anti-Abortion Factor

Research shows that the vast majority of Americans support IVF. Even among groups that are very conservative, support is high. Any legal ramifications to IVF have largely been collateral damage from the debate over reproductive rights at large. Republicans are broadly against abortion and fought to overturn Roe v. Wade ostensibly in order to revert rights to the state. In order to make abortion illegal, laws will often define personhood as starting at the point of conception. This is where it gets murky. Through that definition, a person is created at the moment the lab fertilizes the egg in an IVF procedure.

What Is the Debate Over IVF?

There is not much debate over IVF itself. Most Americans agree that IVF should be legal and want it protected. Among those who want abortion banned, there is concern over definitions and language. Could explicitly legalizing IVF create cracks in the laws prohibiting abortion? There are some, particularly religious conservatives, who argue that IVF is unnatural, but those people are a minority according to most major polls on the subject.

The Law to Protect Doctors

Alabama has been at the center of the IVF debate. It has some of the strictest anti-abortion laws on record. These laws include specific language, such as the destruction of extrauterine children constituting a wrongful death, that casts doubt on whether IVF is legal. The trigger laws even spurred some IVF clinics to stop operating. In response, however, Alabama’s majority-Republican state legislature passed a law that protected IVF. New Jersey adoption lawyers have noted that the law was not a perfect solution. IVF proponents argue it protects doctors too much from malpractice lawsuits and therefore puts families at greater risk.

Uncertainty for Families and Surrogates

As of 2024, there remains doubt for families in more than a dozen states. There are already fewer doctors in those states offering IVF treatment. The costs are going up, and the waiting lists are getting longer. There are also many families with embryos in storage that are unsure how to proceed. In Texas, for instance, there is fear that the state will make it illegal to destroy embryos in 2025.

Legal Advice and Representation for Families

If you live in New Jersey and are seeking to start a family through alternative means, the law firm of Cofsky & Zeidman is here to help. Donald Cofsky has many decades of experience as a New Jersey adoption lawyer as well as in ART and has helped more than 1,500 families achieve their goals. You can contact us online, or call our main office in Haddonfield at (856) 429-5005.

Telling Your Children That They Were Born Through Assisted Reproduction

Having the Talk About Assisted Reproduction

According to some New Jersey adoption attorneys, more than 2% of infants born in the state are conceived through assisted reproductive technology. Those in the ART field expect that number to continue rising as the technologies improve and society becomes more comfortable with the approach overall. Furthermore, we are now gaining research that shows how ART affects the children later in life.

What Is Assisted Reproduction?

Assisted reproduction is a broad term, and the definition varies based on who is using it and where. Generally, it refers to any conception achieved through medical assistance involving the ovary. That includes combining ovaries and sperm in a laboratory and then returning them to a woman’s body. In some cases, the ovary is returned to the woman who provided it. In others, it is donated to another woman who will serve as the mother or surrogate mother.

In the U.S., gestational surrogacy is most common. This is where the surrogate mother has no genetic connection to the child she is carrying. Partial surrogacy is an option as well and much more common in the United Kingdom, for instance. It is also more prevalent overseas for surrogates to become part of the family. Commercial surrogates are more pervasive in the U.S. However, some families want the relationship and seek it out, and it is becoming more common here according to some experts.

Parents Worry Over Telling Children

When it comes to adoption, our society has many decades of experience and a wealth of data to fall back on. We generally know what to expect from child outcomes and the paths necessary to achieve positive ones. This is not yet the case with ART. It is only recently that we have access to studies involving many children who were achieved through ART and have now progressed into adulthood.

One of the chief concerns that parents and others have had is when should you tell a child that they were conceived through ART? Not only when should you tell them, but how much should you disclose?

Telling Children Early Helps

A 2023 study published in the journal Developmental Psychology followed 65 children. Of that group, 22 were born via surrogacy, 26 by sperm donation and 17 through egg donation. Researchers met with the children at age 1, 2, 3, 7, 10 and 14. What they found at age 3 did not come as a surprise. This is the point when children become curious about babies. They want to understand why they are here.

The data also showed that children who were told before age 7 reported better relationships with their mothers throughout their lives. When asked when they learned about the assisted reproduction, the children in this group responded that they always knew. This means that they grew up with the information and never had to experience the shock or surprise that could undermine trust.

Children who were born through surrogacy and made aware of it did tend to experience relationship issues around age 7. At this point, their mental advancement was allowing them to grapple with the concept of surrogacy. But when the researchers returned at age 10, those issues had disappeared in all cases.

Children Want to Be Wanted

One of the things the researchers found was that the assisted reproduction became even more of a positive as the children aged. The children knew they were wanted. This was important to them above all else, and they talked to the researchers about it a great deal.

Legal Representation for Assisted Reproduction

The Law Office of Cofsky & Zeidman has more than 25 years of experience helping families. That includes navigating the many wonderful varieties of assisted reproduction that help people realize their dreams of starting a family. We provide initial consultations without charge or obligation. If you’re ready to begin this journey or already underway, have your case reviewed by a seasoned New Jersey adoption attorney. To set up that appointment, call our Haddonfield office at (856) 429-5005 or our Woodbury location at (856) 845-2555, or contact us online.

The Costs of LGBTQ Family Formation

How Much It Costs to Form an LGBTQI+ Family

Over the past decade, a considerable amount of progress has been made when it comes to LGBTQI+ civil rights, which has made it easier for LGBTQI+ people to start families. According to the 2023 LGBTQI+ Economic and Financial (LEAF) survey, around 36% of LGBTQI+ respondents are parents or primary guardians for one or more children. Regardless of how you choose to start a family, there are certain costs you’ll be tasked with paying.

Adoption Costs

If you’re looking to adopt a child into your LGBTQI+ family, the costs vary substantially depending on the adoption method you choose. Every type of adoption comes with different requirements and processes as well. For instance, you could decide to take part in an open or closed adoption.

In a closed adoption, the adoptive and biological parents don’t have much contact or details about one another. Open adoptions are less stringent in this regard. In most cases, the child’s birth parents and adoptive parents will exchange contact information and even maintain relationships over time. These adoptions usually cost anywhere from $8,000-$30,000. The other types of adoptions and their respective price ranges are:

  • Domestic or international adoptions – $25,000-$75,000
  • Independent adoptions – $15,000-$40,000
  • Private or public agency adoptions – $2,000-$50,000
  • Foster to adoption – $1,000-$5,000
  • Second-parent adoption – $2,000-$3,000

The factors that determine how much you pay during this process depend on the type of adoption you believe is best for your LGBTQI+ family. If you have questions about the adoption process, a New Jersey adoption attorney might be able to help.

Surrogacy Costs

If you aren’t interested in adoption, another solution that might interest you involves surrogacy. For instance, gestational surrogacy takes place when a donor’s fertilized egg is implanted through in vitro fertilization (IVF). It’s possible for the egg and sperm to come from a donor or biological parent. Surrogacy is expensive and can cost anywhere from $60,000 to $150,000.

There are many factors that determine what costs you pay. For instance, you could pay anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 as surrogate compensation. If you’re able to find a close friend or family member who will be an egg donor or surrogate without requiring compensation, your costs can be reduced significantly. While surrogates often require compensation of around $50,000, these costs can be higher if the pregnancy involves cesarean delivery or leads to the birth of twins.

During this process, you might also need to pay for the surrogate’s lost wages and living expenses, which could be $25,000 or more. Healthcare costs add up quickly when paying monthly premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance. Out-of-pocket expenses can be high since many insurance providers don’t provide much coverage for fertility treatment. Additional expenses come in the form of background checks and health screenings, which can add a few thousand dollars to your total costs.

In Vitro Fertilization and Artificial Insemination Costs

There are two primary types of assisted reproductive technology, which include in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination. In vitro fertilization has a success rate of around 50% or higher. During this process, eggs are retrieved from a woman’s ovaries, after which they are fertilized in a lab and transferred to a uterus. An IVF cycle takes around three weeks. However, the entire IVF process requires three cycles, which can take up to nine weeks. The costs range from $45,000 to $70,000.

Artificial insemination costs anywhere from $200-$2,000 and involves delivering sperm to a woman’s uterus or cervix. The two types of artificial insemination include intrauterine insemination (IUI) and intracervical insemination (ICI). The ICI process costs less.

Costs of Protecting LGBTQI+ Family

When you’re forming an LGBTQI+ family, you may eventually pay out-of-pocket legal expenses to secure your parentage. Legal fees occur when contracts need to be drafted and reviewed. Keep in mind that legally establishing parentage for you and your partner requires a court judgment, which can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000. While certain states are currently taking steps to make this process simpler and more streamlined, progress still needs to be made to reduce costs. If you’re in the midst of creating an LGBTQI+ family, legal expenses are difficult to avoid altogether.

Starting a family can be costly for LGBTQI+ parents. However, there are numerous options available when building a family, which provides you with a certain amount of control over what the final costs will be. Call our New Jersey adoption attorney today at (856) 429-5005 if you’re getting ready to start the adoption process or go through assisted reproduction.

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