preview

Surrogate Parenting, Research Paper

Decent Essays

The traditional road to motherhood eluded Vicki Juditz. Having waited until age 36 to start trying for a baby, the actress and writer soon learned that reproductive problems had reduced her chances of conceiving to about 1% (Zimmerman 1). In the article written by Janet Zimmerman after her interview of actress Vicki Juditz, Juditz explains, "My husband and I had very full lives and I guess we didn't feel the pressure, we thought everything would fall into place when we were ready. I just assumed I would have children some day" (Zimmerman 1). In vitro fertilization put Juditz and her husband on the path to parenthood and their surrogate helped them to get there. Their story is the subject of a play written and performed b Juditz and …show more content…

In such cases, a judgment of paternity is obtained, pre-birth, to declare the intended father as the biological father and legal father to the child. If the judgment is post-birth, the intended mother completes a step-parent adoption in the county where the intended parents reside." (Masserman, 1). Advantages appear to be numerous when it comes to these judgments. First, parental rights of the surrogate and her husband are terminated prior to birth. Second, the intended mother avoids the time-consuming stepparent adoption process. Finally, insurance issues and financial documents are more easily processed. (Masserman, 2). The most important legal document is the birth certificate. "The original birth certificate is issued with the names of the intended parents, with some pregnancy and other statistical information of the surrogate." (Masserman, 2). The entire birth certificate file as well as the stepparent adoption file (if applicable) is deemed a closed, confidential file. (Masserman, 1). A recent legal puzzle is bringing about changes to the Florida courts. (Quinn, 1). In her September 14, 2002 editorial entitled, "Old Law Fails In New Situation", Heidi Quinn discusses a recent dispute "In that case, the biological parents disputed the interpretation of the Illinois Parentage Act

Get Access