Creating Lexie’s Village

IVF for single women who never found Mr Right is becoming more popular, even if it is still regarded with some misgivings. A documentary on Australian Story profiles a former Facebook executive, 46-year-old Natalie Lovett, who decided on single motherhood and a designer baby after several failed relationships.

“Have I done it all right? No. I, I’ve made so many mistakes in my life: so many. I’ve walked away from an amazing relationship in my early, late 20s because I chose career over it. Should I be punished for the rest of my life because I didn’t make the right choices at the right time? I love my nieces and nephews so much, but they weren’t my own.”

Her daughter Lexie is now about two years old.

Ms Lovett’s choice involved more work than most IVF mothers. She had to select both a sperm donor and an egg donor. The egg donor was a college student who is using her US$10,000 fee to pay her way through college. Since it is illegal to sell gametes in Australia, she resorted to an Californian clinic. She designed the embryos carefully, specifying that the donors had to have tertiary qualifications and no addictions.

An unusual twist to her story is that she discovered that the clinic had created 25 embryos for her. Reluctant to give them to science or to destroy them, she decided to advertise her “high quality embryos” to prospective mothers. But as a condition of accepting the embryo, the mother has to sign an agreement stipulating that the children and their families have to get together once a year. Her relatives call her scheme Lexie’s Village.

“ … if I can have a say in who I am donating these embryos to and who are going to be adopting these embryos, wouldn’t it be nice, considering they are Lexie’s siblings, for us to stay in touch?”

So far, according to Australian Story, three women have signed the contract.

Kate Bourne, of the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority, commented: “I think baby lust is very strong and very powerful. People desperately want to become parents, so will go to great lengths to travel anywhere to meet that need.”

Single motherhood is an increasingly popular option. According to statistics from the UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the number of singles using IVF rose 20% between 2012 and 2013 in the UK.

Dr Marilyn Glenville, a popular British commentator on women’s health issues, told the Daily Mail that other issues are at work besides women deferring motherhood to pursue a career. Men are also reluctant to commit and are afraid of expensive divorce settlements:

“There is that feeling from men, worrying that they've built up a good income that they'd end up losing some of it - or a vast majority - should they get married and have children … that forces women to take action alone … In some ways it's sad because I think it falls in line with the feeling that men aren't needed. Obviously you can get a sperm donor - and in a way that is a shame. I can understand that it probably is easier to parent a child on your own, than have disagreements between couples, but I don't know whether it is good for the child.”

Sources: http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/creating-lexies-village/11595

'Poor Women Being Exploited for Surrogacy'

There is gross exploitation of poor women who act as surrogate mothers in the State, according to social organisations. The government must introduce legislation at the earliest to protect them and prevent exploitation, they say.

Surrogacy is the practice by which a woman carries the child of another couple to term. She becomes pregnant by some artificial method  and when the child is born, it is given to the biological parents. Many racketeers are thriving in the field. Organised gangs work hand in glove with doctors of private and government hospitals to lure poor and illiterate women to be surrogate mothers. However, at the end of the day they get cheated; they don’t get the promised money. There is also no one to take care of them.

Change India, a social organisation, is collecting information on issues associated with surrogacy and has decided to approach court for a directive to the government to frame rules on surrogacy. “The Indian Council of Medical Research has framed guidelines for surrogacy to curb malpractices, but these are not effective. Strong laws are necessary to prevent them,” said A Narayanan, director of Change India.

Sources: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Poor-Women-Being-Exploited-for-Surrogacy/2015/10/02/article3058484.ece

Swiss couple 'made to adopt own children'

A Swiss couple who used a surrogate mother in the US to give birth to their twins have lost an appeal to be registered as the children's natural parents in Switzerland. But there is a way out.

The twins, now aged three, were carried to term by a surrogate mother in California and are the result of anonymous egg and sperm donations to the couple.

In California, the Swiss couple from the canton of Aargau are listed on the birth certificate as the children’s parents.

However, authorities in Aargau refused to allow the parents to register the children.

A subsequent appeal to the Switzerland’s Supreme Court has now also failed, the Tages Anzeiger newspaper reported on Thursday.

In its ruling, the body said that Switzerland's ban on the use of surrogate mothers meant that such a registration would contravene the constitution.

In Switzerland, all forms of surrogacy are forbidden in a bid to stop children being downgraded to commodities and to prevent the commercialization of mothers' bodies.

The parents, who have no connection to the US, have now been left with one option: they can adopt their own children.

It would still need to be established that the couple were suitable parents and that the adoption was in the best interest of the twins.

But the court said a Swiss adoption process would eliminate uncertainty over the legal status of the children. To date, there has been a danger that the children could be made to leave Switzerland.

In a similar case in May, two men who used a surrogate mother in the US argued they should be both be registered as their child's parents in Switzerland.

In that case the egg was anonymously donated while the sperm was provided by one of the fathers

But Switzerland's supreme court ruled that only the man with a biological link to the child could be registered as a father in the Alpine country.

In a ruling on that case, the court said it did not wish to encourage reproductive tourism.

Sources: http://www.thelocal.ch/20151002/swiss-couple-made-to-adopt-own-children

Some Career Women Undergo Egg Freezing Procedure

Now that more and more women have become empowered and independent, they are determined to work their way to reach the corporate ladder by considering some options to keep their goals. One is continuing to build their career yet delaying to raise their own families through this reproductive health innovation, the egg freezing.

Egg freezing has been hailed as an "insurance policy" to revitalize waning fertility and a breakthrough as revolutionary as the birth control pill among modern women.

According to BBC news, there has been intense debate in China over the controversial ban on single women freezing their eggs as well as the limitations among married women, who can only freeze their eggs in specific circumstances -- for instance when they are to undergo chemotherapy.

These 'egg freezing' issues have been brought to light when two distinguished Chinese women from entertainment and mass media, Xu Jinglei and Zou Qinghong respectively, have undergone such procedure in the U.S.

According to USC Fertility, egg freezing can be beneficial for a number of reasons for women wishing to preserve their fertility for the future. Thus, a woman in her prime reproductive years may feel confident about her family building timeline -- choosing to go beyond traditional.

The Wall Street Journal included in its report a statement from Tom Tang, a 30-year-old finance worker from Beijing, who agrees with the ban for single women. “If egg freezing is allowed, a lot of people will have babies without getting married,” Tang expressed his thoughts on legalizing egg freezing in China.

Egg freezing is not for everyone as it involves risks. Be mindful and keep yourself abreast of its latest techniques and applications.

Sources: http://www.chinatopix.com/articles/66410/20151002/chinese-career-women-undergo-egg-freezing-procedure-despite-government-ban.htm

FERTILITY TREATMENTS CAN BE SUCCESSFUL EVEN IN VERY POOR PROGNOSIS PATIENTS

Women widely thought to be “hopelessly” infertile have a much higher likelihood of having a baby with their own eggs than most fertility doctors believe, according to a new study published in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility, the official organ of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). The study offers new hope to women who currently frequently are told by their physicians that use of #donor #eggs is their only chance.

So called poor-prognosis patients are usually women above ages 40-42 but can also be younger women with abnormally low functional ovarian reserve. Because they represent the most difficult infertility cases and have only limited pregnancy chances with use of their own eggs, they require special attention and expertise and, still, may lower a center’s success overall rates. They, therefore, are often denied use of their own eggs under the premature assumption that such treatment will be futile, and that only donor eggs offer an option of conception.

Women seeking second or third opinions, however, often find themselves at the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR) in New York, one of only very few fertility centers worldwide that do offer services routinely to this kind of adversely selected patients. This specialty allowed them to accumulate the large number of results reported in this scientific publication.

The article, written by CHR researchers, examined live-birth outcomes for 483 poor-prognosis patients at their center who underwent 768 IVF cycles using their own eggs. A large majority were over 40, with the oldest being 51.

381 IVF cycles produced at least 1 embryo and, therefore, reached embryo transfer. Among those, the study demonstrated that ultimate live birth chances depended on 2 factors: age of the patient and number of embryos available for transfer; the younger the patient the better, and the more embryos were available the better. Up to age 40, even only 1 or 2 embryos still denoted very good live birth chances. Above age 40, the number of available embryos, however, assumed increasing importance with advancing age.

The investigators concluded: “Defining age-specific live birth rates in a population of very poor prognosis patients, we demonstrate that even such patient to their mid-40s can still achieve acceptable live birth rates.” They then added: “The degree to which egg donation is emphasized as the only treatment option in such patients, therefore, requires reconsideration.”

Sources: http://www.satprnews.com/2015/10/02/fertility-treatments-can-be-successful-even-in-very-poor-prognosis-patients/

Court reinforces stance on biological parenthood

Switzerland’s Federal Court has ruled that a couple living in canton Aargau may not be officially recognised as the parents of their twins, who were born via surrogate in 2012.

The couple presented a California birth certificate to the civil register that named them as the twins’ mother and father, but both the Aargau authorities and the Federal Court refused to accept their registration as parents.

The court’s reasoning was that neither parent had a biological link to the twins, who were conceived when an embryo created using the egg and sperm of anonymous donors was implanted into a surrogate in the United States. The decision was supported by the fact that the couple had also been living uninterrupted in Switzerland, and had no official link to the US.

Under the Federal Constitution, all forms of surrogacy are illegal in Switzerland. The ban aims to prevent children from being treated like commodities, and to protect the surrogate mothers.

In May this year, the Federal Court annulled a decision by a court in St Gallen that said two gay fathers could both be registered as the parents of a child, who had also been born via an American surrogate. The Federal Court reversed that decision, ruling that only the father whose sperm had been used to conceive the child could be officially recognised as a parent.

Sources: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/parental-rights_court-reinforces-stance-on-biological-parenthood/41693782

Woman who is turning into a human statue reveals her race against time to have a baby via surrogate as rare condition causes her muscles turn to BONE

• Rachel Winnard, 30, has Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
• Rare and debilitating condition where muscle is turned into bone  
• The 30-year-old longs for a baby with her husband of four years, Paul 

A woman who is turning into a human statue due to faulty gene in her body longs to have a baby even though it could exacerbate her condition.

Rachel Winnard, 30, from Rochdale, has a rare and debilitating condition called Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) that causes muscle to turn into bone.

The condition affects one in two million people and the slightest injury can cause her body to repair itself by growing bone where muscles and other tissues should be.

As a result, she is unable to deliver a baby naturally and a c-section isn't an option as surgery also makes the condition worse.

But after researching and speaking with medical experts, she and her husband, Paul, 35, are hopeful they can now have the family they dream of via a surrogate.

She said: 'I know the complications and it is quite dangerous so we are talking about surrogacy. I am excited to do it, it is easier than I thought it would be.'

Thanks to modern fertility treatments, doctors would be able to select an egg from Rachel that doesn't carry the faulty genetic gene to rule out the possibility of her passing FOP on to a child.

They could then create an embryo with Paul's sperm and implant this in a surrogate so the couple can have a child of their own without risking Rachel's health further.

Paul said of their hopes: 'In the future we would love to be able to have a couple of children - ideally a boy and a girl - and watch them grow up and for Rachel and I to live happily ever after as I love her.'

Rachel added: 'We always wanted a child more than getting married.'

Rachel reveals the extent of her debilitating condition in the latest episode of TLC show Body Bizarre.

Explaining her lack of mobility, Rachel said: 'I can't move my neck, I have to turn my whole body. My back is straight that doesn't bend, my hips lock and my feet are frozen on the balls of my feet so I have to wear heels, I can't physically put my feet flat to the floor or I would fall over.'

Dr Alex Bullock, a research scientist further elaborates on the medical condition: 'Any damage to existing tissue like a bruising causes it to breakdown and stem cells to invade the area.

'These cells develop into bone where we used to have muscle.'

He said that the disease will progress throughout Rachel's life and there is currently no medical treatment to stop it.

Despite this, Rachel is keen to start a family with Paul, who she married in 2010.

He said her condition has never held them back before. 'When she told me I was a little shocked - muscles turning to bone? I had never heard of it. But we fell in love straight away,' he said.

Rachel's mother Julie reveals how it took years for her daughter's condition to be diagnosed as it was so uncommon.

They first noticed signs when she was 18 months and she had lumps in her neck but as the condition is so rare, Rachel was 12 by the time FOP was suspected.

Chemotherapy caused the lumps in her neck to disappear but then, at the age of nine, an accident on the garden swing caused another lump to appear on her back and Rachel endured more chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

She began to have trouble moving easily and her arm joins would often lock.

It was only years later, when Julie watched a show about FOP, that she recognised the symptoms in daughter.

Sources: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3255367/Woman-turning-human-statue-reveals-race-against-time-baby-surrogate-rare-condition-causes-muscles-turn-bone.html

First transgender enters surrogacy agreement

Although classified as female at birth, a man has made South African legal history by becoming the first transgender person to enter into a surrogacy agreement. X was raised as a girl but identifies as male.

In March this year, the High Court confirmed a surrogate motherhood agreement, enabling X to use a surrogate.

X was born in a small rural town in the Eastern Cape. He describes his childhood as idyllic, he was raised as a girl, but he didn't feel like one.

X says she just wanted to play soccer, she enjoyed playing fighting games with boys and often beat them. She says her mother let her down easy as she would not have to do normal household chores as young Xhosa girls are expected to do.

Ethelwyn Rebelo is a counselling psychologist who specialises in gender issues. X credits Rebelo for helping him to come to terms with his gender identity.

“I had a sense of being different but unable to make sense in a little community. There was no talk of any alternative sexuality or gender difference. I remember having crushes on girls and I didn’t like wearing girls clothes.

“For the next few years I attended church and prayed and prayed, and wept, asking God to change me; when it became evident that this was not happening I decided that somehow I had been made that way,” says X.

It took many years before he was able to accept himself.

Surrogacy is typically used by gay couples or heterosexual people who are physically unable to conceive a child
X went on to marry a woman and they set up home together, but his wife didn't want any children.

South African law on surrogacy is rather strict. All surrogacy agreements have to be confirmed by a court of law.

Surrogacy is typically used by gay couples or heterosexual people who are physically unable to conceive a child.

Surrogacy lawyer, Robynne Friedman says that X had a tough hurdle to cross seeing that he was physically able to conceive and give birth to a child.

“She had always regarded herself as man and had lived her life as a boy. Later she lived as a man, dresses as a man, walks like a man, speaks like a man. She should actually be referred to as a he,” says Friedman.

It was a tough hurdle to cross in largely unchartered territory and X was quite apprehensive from the outset. But they were able to prove their case and the Judge confirmed the surrogacy agreement in March this year.

“X is presently undergoing IVF treatment to exact eggs which then fertilise with that of a sperm donor. Once the embryo is created it will be implanted into a surrogate's uterus,” says Friedman.

Sources: http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/46e0c9004a0cbcdbaf74efa53d9712f0/First-transgender-enters-surrogacy-agreement-20151001

Ontario MPP seeking to end legal limbo faced by couples who use egg and sperm donors

Imagine watching your wife cling to life after a difficult child birth, only to face the added uncertainty that you might not be able to take your newborn home with you if the mother dies.

Kirst Mathers McHenry faced that horror when her daughter was born. She watched with anxiety as her wife’s heart “misbehaved” through the birth and in hospital. Luckily, both moms left the hospital with their daughter, but their experience exposes a big gap in Ontario family law.

Parents in same-sex couples, those who use a known sperm or egg donor, and transgender people who give birth currently face a loophole in the Children’s Law Reform Act.

Though non-biological parents can put their name on a birth registration form in hospital, in many cases it’s not legally binding unless they later adopt their own children. Why? Because the law as written means the definition of those immediately deemed parents only applies to a man and a woman cohabiting. That “presumption of parentage” is further complicated and even more murky when egg or sperm donors are used, especially when they are known to the couple having the child.

It sounds complicated, but it boils down to the fact that “anyone using assistive reproduction could be affected, as well as other families,” said family lawyer Joanna Radbord, who has had to go to court to clarify parenthood of her own children. “Unless your family consists of a cisgender man who’s partnered with a cisgender woman, who have sexual intercourse which results in a baby, and that’s it, unless that’s your family, you’re left out.

Parenting is not about genetic material, it is about love and responsibility
“This has been outdated for years. There’s no acknowledgement whatsoever of any family diversity,” she said.

Now, Parkdale-High Park MPP Cheri DiNovo is seeking to change the law to ensure that families of all shapes and sizes are immediately recognized as parents at birth. A bill she plans to introduce next week would amend the law to allow same-sex parents, families who use sperm and egg donors, and even three or more parents to be recognized on birth certificates. That means a sperm donor as well as the lesbian couple raising the child could all be legally recognized, or, alternatively, just the couple that is parenting full-time.

“Parenting is not about genetic material, it is about love and responsibility,” DiNovo said. Last week, MPPs voted in favour of a motion from Glenn Thibeault to change all government forms that relate to parents from referring to “mothers” and “fathers” to referring to “parents” or “guardians” to be more inclusive. DiNovo said she supported that effort as well, but this goes much further and makes necessary amendments to law. Her effort would also make birth certificates gender neutral so, for instance, a transgender man who has a child would not need to be listed as the “mother” simply because he is the birth parent.

It follows a 2013 move in B.C. to do just the same, and clarifies a point of law many were unaware affected them after same-sex marriage was legalized 12 years ago in Ontario, Radbord said.

This has been outdated for years. There’s no acknowledgement whatsoever of any family diversity
Andy Inkster, a health promoter with the LGBTQ Parenting Network at Sherbourne Health Centre, said the amendment would add much-needed clarity for new parents who are already running around to doctor’s appointment. They don’t need the expense or the effort of going through a lawyer to legally adopt their own children.

“This affects not just LGBT people, it’s going to make things simpler who are doing surrogacy, it’s going to make things clearer for people doing egg donation or sperm donation,” Inkster said. He noted the pending announcement of government funding for in-vitro fertilization could make this problem even more common than it already is. “It means anybody, regardless of who is in their family, is on the same footing.”

He said it will bring “clarity and simplicity” to the birth process, when currently LGBT parents are faced with an extremely complex legal limbo. His health centre has two eight-page information packets just to guide parents through the complex process, in addition to a legal information kit. Because same-sex couples won the right years ago to put both parents names on birth registration, many don’t realize that isn’t legally binding. He said DiNovo’s bill will provide a “much-needed update” to a problem he encounters all the time.

PC leader Patrick Brown said his party supported the motion last week and would support any effort to increase inclusivity in the law; however, he doesn’t see why forms can’t both keep “mother” and “father” on them as well as add “parent” and “guardian” so everyone feels their preferred title is an option.

DiNovo has had much recent success in garnering all-party support for LGBT rights initiatives. She helped pass Toby’s Act, which enshrined transgender rights in Ontario human rights law, and a bill to ban conversion therapy of LGBT youth in Ontario.

Sources: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/ontario-mpp-seeking-to-end-legal-limbo-faced-by-couples-who-use-egg-and-sperm-donors

Foreigners unable to take surrogate babies home

Foreigner parents of surrogate babies born in Nepal have urged the government to send their children home, saying that they have not been able to leave the country with their babies after the Supreme Court banned surrogacy last month.

The problem arose after the apex court imposed a ban on surrogacy without specifying what to do with babies already on the process of being born and the government not being able to find a solution to the problem a month after the ban.

“I want to take my babies home and have been making rounds to the Department of Immigration and the Ministry of Health trying to get paper work that would allow me to fly home with my children, but to no avail,” said a frustrated George Barnwell (name changed), father of two surrogate babies born in the Capital a month ago. The Supreme Court on August 25 had issued an interim order to immediately halt the surrogacy services in the country. In the order, the court also asked hospitals operating surrogacy services and the Ministry of Health and Population to furnish clarification citing legal grounds on which they were ruining such businesses.

Barnwell, a 28-year-old Australian, had contacted local agents for having a baby through a surrogate mother after the government had directed ministry of health to formulate a guideline for surrogacy in November last year.

As a result the twin babies--a boy and a girl--were born on August 29. Barnwell said he then obtained passports for his babies through the Australian Embassy.

The embassy conducted a DNA test of the babies and the father and issued Australian passport for the babies based on their genetic connection.

“I respect the fact that the government has banned

surrogacy now. But we had started the process a long time before the ban and now I urge the government to find a solution so that we can fly home with our babies,” added an Israeli father who too has not been able to take his child home after the ban was imposed.

The government has admitted that it has not able to send surrogate children home due to lack of proper guidelines.

“For the time being, there is nothing we can do. But the Immigration Department and Ministry of Health are scheduled for a meeting later this week to find a way to send surrogate children home. Until then, we urge the parents to be patient,” said Kedar Neupane, Immigration Department chief.

Neupane said the government will follow international practice and find a solution so that children born as a result of the process that had started before the ban was imposed will be able to fly to their respective home country.

Both the foreigner fathers revealed that they had paid the surrogate mother, an Indian woman, $ 10 thousand and further $ 9,000 to the hospital for the medical charges.

According to Barnwell, there are more than 30 parents from Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Israel and Serbia trying to get their babies home.

Sources: http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2015-10-01/foreigners-unable-to-take-surrogate-babies-home.html

British Doctors Get Go-Ahead To Carry Out Womb Transplants For First Time

If the procedures are successful, 10 British women could have babies from transplanted wombs by the end of 2017.

Ten British women are to have the UK’s first womb transplants, in a clinical trial that was approved following a successful procedure in Sweden.

Doctors at Imperial College London have been granted ethical approval by the NHS’s Health Research Authority to operate on the women. The surgeries will go ahead in the next few months, and the recipients will be observed for 12 months to ensure that the wombs are not rejected.

If the operations are successful, the first children born in Britain from implanted wombs could arrive, via caesarian section, by 2017.

The transplant will be carried out by a team led by Dr Richard Smith, a gynaecologist at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, London. Smith has been involved in efforts to bring about womb transplants for nearly 20 years.

The transplant team have had more than 300 applications from women, of whom 104 meet the criteria. Those criteria include having a long-term partner, being of a healthy weight, and being under the age of 39.

There are around 5,000 women of childbearing age in the UK who were born without a womb – about one woman in every 4,500 – and more have to have theirs removed surgically to prevent the spread of cancer. Until now the only options for those women to become parents have been adoption or using another woman as a surrogate mother. Smith said in a statement: “For many couples, childlessness is a disaster. Infertility is a difficult thing to treat for these women.

“Surrogacy is an option but it does not answer the deep desire that women have to carry their own baby. For a woman to carry her own baby – that has to be a wonderful thing.”

Prof Adam Balen, a consultant in reproductive medicine and the chair of the British Fertility Society, told BuzzFeed News that “the fact that this research is being put into clinical practice in the UK is excellent news”.

He warned that there were dangers as well as benefits, in that patients will have to take drugs to suppress their immune system, which could make them and their babies more vulnerable to infections.

“[There is a question over whether it is] appropriate to expose a baby to immunosuppressive therapy for the sake of a uterus, when you can have babies born through surrogacy,” he said. “Having said that, I see patients for whom surrogacy just isn’t an option for their own ethical, moral, or sometimes religious reasons.”

He also said that due to the shortage of donors, this procedure would be unlikely to be a solution for every woman who lacks a womb. “Not having a womb is more common than people think, and I don’t think this is going to become a very common procedure.”

The Swedish baby, which has just had its first birthday, was born using a womb donated by a living friend of the patient. The British patients will all be given wombs from brain-dead donors.

Six months after the birth, the patients will be able to either try for another baby or have the womb removed so that they can come off the immunosuppressant drugs. Balen told BuzzFeed News that although in theory the wombs could be used in new patients, in practice the blood vessels would likely be “knackered” and they would only be used once each.

Sources: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/british-doctors-get-go-ahead-to-carry-out-womb-transplants-f

My 61-year-old mum gave birth to my son four years ago - now he thinks it's 'cool'

When Sara Connell's mother agreed to carry her baby to term it captured the hearts of many - but what happened next?

Finn Connell may only be four years old, but he already knows how he came to be here. His proud mum , Sara, has been honest and open about that.

However, rather than comprising of a child-appropriate chat about the birds and the bees, Finn and Sara's story is a little more unconventional .

It goes back to seven years before Finn's birth, and it's not just about his parents, it's also a story about the crucial part his grandmother played.

Finn's birth captured the imagination of many when it made the news four years ago precisely because it is so unique - and a happy ending to years of heartache for Sara and her husband Bill.

So, how DID Sara describe it to her young son?

The writer, coach and mum explains her incredible story to Mirror Online, and how their unique family is doing four years after Finn's birth.

"He asked once how babies are born"
"I told him the story as simply as I could, 'regularly they take a part from mommy and a part from daddy and a baby grows in the mommy’s tummy'.

"I said, 'my tummy had a broken part and for you they took the parts from mommy and daddy and you got to go into Grandma’s tummy, and I was with you every day until you were born'."

And Finn's response?

"He said 'cool'."

Sara and Bill, a TV producer and director began trying for a family in the spring of 2004. It was to be the start of a seven-year struggle for the Chicago-based couple.

"We weren’t getting pregnant on our own so started with two years of acupuncture and yoga and herbs, then allopathic fertility treatments for a year.

"We did IVF and got pregnant with twins and were so joyful."

Tragically, the couple's joy turned to grief when five-and-a-half months into the pregnancy, Sara's cervix dilated and she went into early labour.

Her twins were delivered stillborn.

"We became pregnant again a year later and had a miscarriage.

The couple persevered with IVF, but there was only so much they could bear. Sara describes it as "hitting a wall".

"We felt emotionally strained and we had depleted our savings.

"We told our families we were taking a break - we’d let them know when we had anything to report."

Recounting how they decided to not talk about fertility for a while, Sara adds: "We asked to keep our hearts open to whatever way we could have a child, - adoption and we did a tiny bit of research on surrogacy, to keep trying in my body."

"It was like a lightning current"
It was around the same that Sara's mother, Kristine heard a story which was to dramatically change the course of events.

"My mother read a story online about a post-menopausal woman who gave birth.

"She and her friends joked about needing to use birth control, had a laugh, but when she got home she said it was like a lightening current moved through her."

Finding pregnancy easy and a joy, Kristine, 59 at the time, had often told Sara the favorite moments of her life had been being pregnant - and she got in touch with her daughter about it.

"She proposed the idea to us in a letter.

"I cried with gratitude. We all agreed it was a wild, crazy idea. We had no idea if it was possible.

"I don’t know if it was the years of trying or her generosity, but I felt a slice of hope, as if a door had opened where there had been no door."

Together, the family agree if they found a doctor who would take care of it, they would go for it.

Admitting it was an extraordinary situation for which there were no rule, Sara says there were some ground rules.

"There are a lot of emotions that came up. We made a pact that we would be honest with each other, talk about things if we needed to, even if scary or uncomfortable.

"I was blessed to have a lot of tools from my training as a counselor we could dip in to if needed.

The rest is history.

Life with Finn
Understandably, Kristine's generosity and the arrival of the son she describes as an "awesome four-year-old" has impacted on Sara's relationship with her mum.

"We have a bond beyond anything I would have imagined.

"There was just so much opportunity for intimacy- my mother moved to Chicago for the majority of the pregnancy.

"We had so much time together. We read Harry Potter to Finn every day when he was in the womb, took walks, sang songs.

Adding how the closeness has continued after Finn’s birth, Sara says the family will be spending Christmas and Halloween together.

As for Finn himself, Sara describes him as taking after both her and Bill.

"Finn is a joy! He is funny, social and creative- and loving.

"Like Bill, he loves to be the leader in games and create games for friends to play. Finn’s dad is also an excellent cook and Finn takes after him.

"He makes up his own sauces and can crack and beat eggs, season food and bake popovers and pies with me.

"Like Bill, he likes to joke and make people laugh. Like me, he loves to read, write stories, make art and play sports."

Surrogacy
Since her book, 'Bringing in Finn', Sara's story, has reached many other women struggling to carry their babies to term, and has touched and inspired them.

"I have heard from hundreds of women on the journey to parenthood. At least a dozen have shared that they are embarking on a family surrogacy.

These are also women who Sara is encountering on a day-to-day basis.

"I met a woman in a store last week who shared that she was doing a surrogacy with her cousin. I have heard from two mother-daughters, sisters-in-law, cousins, friends and traditional surrogates and mothers.

It's something Sara has noticed is becoming increasingly common, and she muses: "We wonder if by the time Finn is in middle school, if his beginnings will even be so unique."

A strong advocate of surrogacy and family surrogacy, Sara continues: "I would recommend it - if everyone involved wanted full heartedly to go for it.

"We had the amazing experience of my mother truly wanting this for herself and I felt and believed this was true.

"The experience was one she was up for and emotionally we were all up for. For us it was a joyful, amazing experience. I wish that for anyone taking a less traditional path!"

Looking to the future, Sara intends on continuing to enjoy every minute of parenthood and everything it entails.

Although she does also admit: "And now that Finn is a bit older, some awesome, more exotic travel!"

Sources: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/61-year-old-mum-gave-6539662

Not all plain sailing for world’s oldest IVF patient having a baby with her own eggs

A patient at a Florida fertility clinic has, at the age of 46, become the world's oldest IVF patient to have a baby with her own eggs. There are many cases of older women delivering healthy babies from donor eggs - especially in the USA, where many egg donation cases even in postmenopausal women have been widely publicised.

But it's extremely rare for women of such an advanced reproductive age to have a successful pregnancy with her own eggs. Many studies have found that the rate of chromosomal abnormalities in a woman's eggs and embryos increases with advancing age, such that at least half the embryos have been identified with some disorders after the age of 35 or so. Such findings explain the higher risk of miscarriage or Down syndrome in the pregnancies of older women.

Most women over 40 - as reflected in the Bridge Centre's Fertility for the Over-40s programme - are usually advised that routine IVF with their own eggs is likely to be much less successful than with donor eggs. Those using their own eggs, even in their late 30s, would usually be advised to ensure the chromosomal health of embryos by embryo screening.

"In no way does a woman want to use this example to defer fertility until they are older," said the Florida clinic's founder in a press statement. "After age 40, women still face huge hurdles. Their risk of complication gets higher every step of the way."

This was certainly the case for their patient, whose pregnancy required a ten-week stay in hospital and an early delivery by Cesarean section.

Sources: http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/news/not-all-plain-sailing-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-ivf-patient-having-baby-her-own-eggs-1112045/

Meet Sophie Lewis: the 30-year-old hoping to have a womb transplant

Sophie Lewis was 16 when she received the news that she would never be able to carry a child of her own.

Lewis, whose periods had failed to start, was told she had Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, which meant her womb had never developed.

The condition is thought to affect one in 5,000 women and the only options for having a family are usually surrogacy or adoption.

“I don’t think it really sunk in at the time, I was doing my GCSEs and I was having fun with my friends,” said Lewis.

“I was upset, but I think it was easier to take on board because I was quite young.”

But as she got older, the concern over whether she would have children grew stronger.

Now 30, she is preparing to marry her long-term partner Tilden Lamb, 38, a recruitment consultant, next year.

“We have been together five and a half years now and he feels the same as I do,” said Lewis, who works in e-learning, and is hoping to be one of the 10 women taking part in the trial for womb transplants.

“I was always open with him from day one and we have discussed surrogacy and adoption. We are very much ‘what will be, will be’, but he is excited about the opportunity offered by a transplant.

“When I was 16, I was told that I would never have children or that I would need to use a surrogate or look at adoption. But then this whole other opportunity opened up to me.”

Lewis is mindful of the fact a womb transplant is still relatively experimental, but puts her faith in the doctors leading the clinical trial.

“It’s a huge operation, but it’s very exciting to be given this opportunity,” she said. “To be able to carry my own child would be amazing.

“If I don’t get picked, then we will go down the surrogacy route.”

The news last year that a baby had been born in Sweden using the same technique left her in tears.

“It was a very exciting time, I was so emotional, I did not know what to do,” said Lewis.

“It was a massive shock but it was an amazing thing to see and hear. I took a lot of comfort from the fact that there’s a chance it might work.”

Lewis’s parents are very supportive, although her mother worries about the implications of the surgery.

“She’s worried because it’s a big operation,” said Lewis. “But then on the other side she understands why I would want to do it.

“I think carrying your own child would be amazing. With a surrogate, you wouldn’t feel the baby kick or move around. To be able to feel your baby move must be amazing.

“I want to experience the love you have for your child. It makes a family really.”

Sources: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/30/meet-sophie-lewis-the-30-year-old-hoping-to-have-a-womb-transplant

Fertility Hustler Gets Off Easy for Scamming Childless Couples

Allison Layton stole from over 40 would-be moms and dads with her surrogacy Ponzi scheme—and she danced out of court with an insanely light sentence.
Julie Cameron walked slowly to the lectern in the basement of the Los Angeles federal courtroom hugging a baby doll nestled in a blanket. “This is all that we have,” she said through tears.

The doll was supposed to be for their daughter, Anna.

But Anna was never conceived. And the cradle robber sat three feet away, staring up at the childless woman and her broken husband with steely eyes.

Allison Layton managed to find time in her rockstar schedule in Star, Idaho, to be seated at her own sentencing hearing on Monday morning in California.

Sources close to the minted felon told The Daily Beast that Layton, who had been convicted in February of federal wire fraud charges for running away with funds from over 40 would-be moms and dads, had been allegedly boasting in private that she would get off virtually scot-free.

Layton took a plea deal in which the now-38-year-old mother (an egg donor herself to possibly a dozen or more domestic and foreign couples) was found guilty of concocting a Ponzi scheme where she duped scores of hopeful parents like the Camerons out of their nest eggs for years in order to bankroll her champagne lifestyle.

Judge George H. Wu heard pleas from crushed, penniless victims urging him to lock Layton away for as long as 20 years. The judge announced that he’d also read Layton’s defender request that, as a first-time offender, she’d simply do community service and be on probation for a few years.

Claiming to be the main caregiver to three children —ages 14, 4, and 2 (her eldest daughters have since moved out on their own)—she said her absence would be catastrophic to her family. “If she were not there, things would clearly fall apart,” her lawyer said in the objections filed to the presentence report and sentencing memorandum.
Her federal public defender tried to win over the judge by suggesting that Layton was filled with remorse and experienced a “fall from grace.” She said Layton’s already been paying back the stolen funds (a claim that was heavily contested by the federal prosecutor), and that probation was a considerable form of punishment.

Moreover, documents filed by her lawyer a week prior had painted Layton as a victim several times over.

As a young girl from Orlando, Florida, Layton was constantly relocating because her dad was a serial skirt chaser, the court documents claimed.

Layton was said she was sexually attacked by a next-door neighbor as a toddler and she later accused her first husband of having a terrible temper and even physically abusing her. (A source close to the family alleged to The Daily Beast that Layton’s accusations about spousal abuse surfaced after she was caught by the feds.) At 26 years old and still married, she took up egg donation as a way “to keep things afloat.” Before she opened Miracles, her Ponzi scheme egg donation center, Layton was serving chow at Applebee's and going door-to-door for Mary Kay Cosmetics.

Miracles started taking off. But her lawyer said it was the founder’s poor bookkeeping, not her lux lifestyle, that did her in.

The objections to the presentencing report suggest Layton was “ill-equipped at running these services at this scale, and started making mistakes, failing to maintain proper bookkeeping and commingling funds.” So all the money swiped and spent on her second wedding reception (the papers state she yet again donated her own eggs to fund it) and an Instagram photo—acquired by The Daily Beast—of fancy Tiffany boxes stacked for Christmas were merely a result of an error-prone exec who was over her head.

Meanwhile, not long after Layton and her husband welcomed a daughter into their family, her oldest daughter was supposedly misdiagnosed with a brain tumor, the court papers say. “Although the diagnosis was wrong and [sic] ultimately recovered from meningitis, the family was thrown into a constant state of stress for the next year.”

In her objections to the presentence and sentencing memorandum, Layton’s lawyers said she was determined to right her wrong. “Although she knows that repaying the money will not heal the wounds, she is committed to continuing to pay full restitution, which she has been making since the inception of this case.”

The judge ultimately was unswayed and ruled that Layton be sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

While she must return to court in October to deal with a trial over restitution for what amounts to “at least $250,000,” the egg thief trotted out of court on Monday morning beaming and flanked by her second husband and friends. Now facing time in the big house, Layton remained mum.

According to the charges, Miracles Egg Donation served as a bargain-basement one-stop surrogacy and egg-donation shop (for some, their last stop). But it promised to cover all of the logistics when it came to complicated conceiving methods.

Layton advertised on her Miracles site (which has since been taken down) that the business handled “matching; screening; and coordination for all medical, psychological, legal and financial aspects related to the donation and surrogacy process.”

The sepia-hued site showcased an array of testimonials that The Daily Beast archived. One nameless and dateless woman seems to shower Layton with adoration. “I’m brought to tears every time I think of what she has done for me and how sincerely she cares. I am happy to say I am pregnant and we have THREE heartbeats!”

And if you were to consider donation—well, Layton was in fact an egg donor herself. When asked in 2004 about the questionable practice of donating her eggs to Australian parents (laws there now forbid such practices) to collect a $10,000-a-pop payday, Layton seemed resolved.

Back in 2004 the then-29-year-old Layton, referred to by her first married surname Jarvie, told The Sunday Mail how she was just a messenger. “The mum is the one that gives life to the child ... she gives the blood, the oxygen and the food... I’m just the DNA.”

As a mother of three, having another child at that time wasn’t in the cards. So she believed she should be charitable. “I am not using my eggs. I might as well give them to someone who can...I don’t feel I am doing it for the money. If I can help someone else it’s an honour."

In court, during the sentencing, the guilty stork-slayer stood up. Her lawyer’s hand caressed her back as Layton unfolded a typed statement that she read before Judge Wu and a few victims—three of whom had only moments ago poured their hearts out about being looted by Layton.

“Every day I wish I could wake up and go back in time to fix everything that was taken from each person that was hurt,” she read.

She went on to claim how her selfishness caused suffering to many people and “was a result of my downfall.”

Layton cracked and had to dab her eyes with a tissue when she talked about how hard this has been to turn her life around. Besides being “arrogant” and “blind,” she said that she was coping and hoping to change her ghoulish ways. “My failures have taught me a lot of lessons about myself. As a result of these actions it has helped me to start to grow.” She broke for a second to dry her tears. “I know I have a lot more to do to be the person I want to be… This is not who I thought I was. But I am determined to become someone my children can rely on.”

She ended her three-minute statement by saying, “I am deeply regretful and sorry every day.”

But is she really sorry?

After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Layton was found culpable of shaking down people from as far back as 2008 and up until after she was caught, according to court papers.

While authorities made it explicit that Layton must refrain from playing god with other parents and their money—she kept doing it. “Upon her pretrial release on Jan. 8,” Layton “continued to operate Miracles at least as late as February 2015,” the government’s sentencing position, filed on September 17, read. Layton was even working with an attorney brokering egg donation services and she “led him to believe that she was still working with clients and involved with the company.”

While some of the parental hopefuls may be too ashamed to come forward or too financially strapped to sue Layton, it’s possible more victims were spurned, the prosecutor said. “The government … is not aware of how many other clients Miracles may have had during this period,” the sentencing document said.

What’s more, during that time, Layton was posting pics of herself having a grand time in Idaho.

The defeated diva has since quit selling the gift of life to couples and has instead been slaving away at a hair salon. According to her objections to the presentence report and sentencing memorandum filed a week ago, Layton portrayed herself as working menial jobs for the past seven months as an assistant manager at an Idaho beauty salon, “operating the cash register, cleaning the facilities and doing laundry.”

Her lawyers claim Layton has been living a “frugal” lifestyle, “rarely purchasing anything on credit, buying clothes only for the children, rarely eating out and have ceased common luxuries such as cable television and gym memberships.”

But sources tell The Daily Beast she’s still allegedly been driving a Cadillac Escalade and her husband, Kevin, has supposedly been tooling around on a brand new Harley-Davidson. And the couple is apparently keeping up their extracurriculars. In the name of altruism, Layton and her ex-firefighter husband, who now works at a water filtration facility, were in in full moto regalia attending the “Bikers For Boobies Ride” on March 29. “Just another day in paradise!” Layton commented under a pic revealing countless motorcycles readying to ride.

The two also shared a date night where they grabbed a movie and champagne, according to one Instagram post, where Layton remarked, “Beer.. Champs…champs…date night with the hubbs at the movie theater! #cheers #muchneeded.”

Outside court, when asked if the tears she was dabbing were real, one of her friends snarled, “You weren’t there.”

But Bethany Torres was.

Like the Camerons, she, too claims to have been baited and victimized by a charismatic Layton. But unlike the grieving couple, who were shaking uncontrollably when the sentence was handed down by the judge, Torres, 30, essentially was employed by Layton as a surrogate.

About five years ago the young mother posted on a message board her desire to give life to needy couples. “I wanted so badly to help a couple that couldn’t have children,” she told The Daily Beast.

Torres says Layton and her Miracles Egg Donation outfit—run out of her Glendora, California, garage—sought the young woman out.

The process to match Intended Parents, or “IPs,” with a surrogate can take months, Torres said. But at Miracles, Layton managed to expedite it to a month with a couple from Australia. “I was pregnant on the first try with twin boys by late November [2010].”

Layton was very hands-on with her preggers mom under her employ. She went to doctor’s appointments and she was also pregnant herself, Torres said. So the two were expecting together.

But whenever Torres brought up an issue or expressed concerns directly with the Intended Parents, she says she saw Layton’s dark side. “Allison had gotten very distant and angry and downright hostile toward me.” Miracles stopped paying Torres and while she was about to go under the knife to deliver by C-section, she was stunned to see Layton was front and center at the surgery with the Aussie tourists waiting in the corridor for their newborns. Layton then allegedly “encouraged them to take [the twin boys] from me right away,” Torres said.

Torres bravely told Layton and everybody filling the courtroom that Layton had been denigrating her in private all along. “I started to hear she said horrible things to them about me when I wasn’t around,” she said, pointing out how the parents were informed that Torres engaged in reckless behavior as a pregnant mother and had been supposedly seeding rumors online about Miracles. “She had lied to them,” she said. “Allison painted me as a horrible money-hungry girl who was trying to get as much money as possible instead of me just asking for what I was legally owed.”

Forced to undergo a hernia surgery “as a result of the [pregnancy]” and with well over $10,000 worth of medical bills piling up, Torres tried turning to Layton for payment for the surrogacy but says she was always given the runaround. “I received emails from Allison always alluding to extenuating circumstances.”

Layton would dodge the queries. She’d tell Torres the payments were already there in her bank account. Or that Miracles had relocated and had crippled her accounting.

Torres lost just about everything. Her marriage fell apart, and she spiraled into depression. “Financially I lost so much and the after-effects of Allison Layton and her schemes are still affecting me today four years later,” she said.

And then Layton added a little extra bonus. She sicced the IRS on the surrogate.

“Not only did she lie, steal and cheat me and so many others out of money we were legally owed, she drove a stake deeper by issuing 1099s on myself and other surrogates claiming she paid.”

Ultimately, Torres hoped the judge heard her when she pointed out that Layton has been able to continue her jet-setting lifestyle. “She made myself and my family suffer financially while she was buying designer shoes and handbags,” she said. “While she was finding new cars and a home with stolen money, she had another child of her own, while many couples who trusted her never will have that chance.”

Sources: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/29/fertility-hustler-gets-off-easy-for-scamming-childless-couples.html

'Amazing opportunity' for womb transplant

SOPHIE Lewis was 16 when she received the news that she would never be able to carry a child of her own.

THE teenager, whose periods had failed to start, was told she had MRKH (Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser) syndrome, which meant her womb had never developed.

The condition is thought to affect one in 5,000 women and the only options for having a family are usually surrogacy or adoption.

"I don't think it really sunk in at the time, I was doing my GCSEs and I was having fun with my friends," said Ms Lewis.

"I was upset but I think it was easier to take on board because I was quite young."

But as Ms Lewis grew older, the concern over whether she would have children grew stronger.

Now 30, she is preparing to marry her long-term partner Tilden Lamb, 38, a recruitment consultant, next year.

"We have been together five and a half years now and he feels the same as I do," said Ms Lewis, who works in e-learning, and is hoping to be one of the 10 women taking part in the trial for womb transplants.

"I was always open with him from day one and we have discussed surrogacy and adoption. We are very much 'what will be, will be' but he is excited about the opportunity offered by a transplant.

"When I was 16, I was told that I would never have children or that I would need to use a surrogate or look at adoption. But then this whole other opportunity opened up to me."

Ms Lewis is mindful of the fact a womb transplant is still relatively experimental but puts her faith in the doctors leading the clinical trial.
"It's a huge operation but it's very exciting to be given this opportunity," she said.

"To be able to carry my own child would be amazing.

Ms Lewis's parents are very supportive, although her mother worries about the implications of the surgery.

"She's worried because it's a big operation," Ms Lewis said.

"But then on the other side, she understands why I would want to do it.

"I think carrying your own child would be amazing. With a surrogate, you wouldn't feel the baby kick or move around. To be able to feel your baby move must be amazing.

"I want to experience the love you have for your child. It makes a family really."

Sources: http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/world/amazing-opportunity-for-womb-transplant/story-fnjbnxon-1227550216437

Owner of Glendora Egg Donation and Surrogacy Company Faces Possibility of Federal Prison Time For Fraud

The owner of a Glendora egg donation and surrogacy company who cheated would-be parents, egg donors and surrogates out of nearly $270,000 faces the possibility of federal prison time when she’s sentenced today.

Allison Layton, 38, who also used the name Allison Jarvie, pleaded guilty in February to a federal wire fraud charge. She owned Miracles Egg Donation, which claimed to handle the logistics of the donation and surrogacy process, and operated it out of her living room, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Between August 2008 and January 2012, would-be parents — who in the surrogacy and egg donation world are known as intended parents — paid thousands of dollars for egg donation and surrogacy services that Miracles promised to coordinate, federal prosecutors said.

Layton took tens of thousands of dollars from intended parents, but instead of putting the funds into escrow accounts to be withdrawn only for certain costs related to surrogacy or egg donation, used the money for her own personal expenses or to cover unpaid costs related to other clients, authorities said.

As a result of Layton’s misappropriation of client funds, egg donors, surrogates, attorneys and others often weren’t paid for all the services they provided and intended parents often did not receive all the services for which they had paid, according to court documents. At least one investor in Miracles also lost money.

When the donors, surrogates and intended parents sought to recover their money and costs, Layton would lull them into believing they would be repaid through false assurances that payments had already been made or would be made soon, court papers show.

Sources: http://westsidetoday.com/2015/09/28/owner-of-glendora-egg-donation-and-surrogacy-company-faces-possibility-of-federal-prison-time-for-fraud/

Idaho Woman Gets 1½ Year Term for California Egg Donor Fraud

An egg donation and surrogacy agency that branded itself as a miracle was more of a mirage.

More than 40 people, including egg donors, surrogates and intended parents were duped by the owner of Miracles Egg Donation of more than $270,000, federal prosecutors said.

Allison Layton, 38, of Star, Idaho, was sentenced Monday to a year and a half in federal prison for wire fraud in the case.

Between 2008 and 2012, Layton, who also used the name Allison Jarvie, took tens of thousands of dollars from would-be parents to pay for costs related to surrogacy and egg donation but instead spent it on a lavish lifestyle, including a $60,000 wedding, or to cover unpaid costs for other clients similar to a Ponzi scheme, prosecutors said.

Layton lied when confronted about why payments had not been made to donors, surrogates and attorneys, prosecutors said.

"This offense is 'more egregious than other types of fraud' because defendant's conduct took a personal and emotional toll on her victims, for whom a happy occasion was turned into a nightmare of inexplicably lost money and frustrating, often fruitless, attempts to get it back," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Williams wrote in a sentencing memo, partly quoting from a pre-sentencing report.

Williams, who sought a two-year prison term, said some of the victims were effectively prevented from ever having children because they were either too old or no longer had the money to pay a donor or surrogate.

"She is a dishonest, shady person who told lie upon lie upon lie and made my life a living hell," one victim, a man identified in court records only as D.B., wrote. "It came to a point where I could not sleep at night from the worry and upset this situation was causing me with the legal fees and knowing I had all this debt to deal with."

Deputy Federal Public Defender Yasmin Cader asked for a probationary sentence and community service. She said Layton had made "mistakes, missteps and failings."

While she successfully connected some would-be parents with donors and surrogates, she failed to keep good records, place money in trust accounts and separate business from personal funds, Cader said.

"As a result of this failure, she quickly found herself buried under the weight of these missteps," Cader said. "When her wrongdoing came to light, she dug a deeper hole for herself, not being honest about her wrongdoing, but instead trying to keep her business afloat."

Layton must also serve three years of supervised release after serving prison time.

A restitution hearing has been scheduled Oct. 22.

Sources: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/idaho-woman-year-term-california-egg-donor-fraud-34111020

Mums with donor egg implants have babies that inherit their characteristics

Fertility doctors have discovered that women who have donor egg implants have babies that inherit their characteristics.

Experts say the breakthrough discovery will boost the self-esteem of mothers who have been unable to have a baby using their own eggs.

For a long time fertility doctors and scientists had suspected the possibility - but this is the first time it has been proven.

Researchers based at a leading Spanish fertility clinic found that secretions from the mother’s womb penetrated pre-implanted embryos influencing their development.

The experts said that genetic information from the mother would be taken up in the development of the baby .

Certain conditions and habits like smoking and obesity can modify women’s cells, including those of the endometrium. This in turn causes changes to the fluid in the womb and its genetic information secretion.

Doctor Felipe Vilella said: “These findings show us that there is an exchange between the endometrium and the embryo, which is something that we already suspected as a result of the coincidence of certain physical characteristics between mothers and children born through ovodonation and also due to the incidence of diseases in children related to maternal pathologies during pregnancy, such as obesity and smoking.

"This communication may cause specific functions to be expressed or inhibited in the embryo, giving rise to modifications that show us how diseases such as diabetes and obesity are transmitted.

"Knowing that this transmission exists, in the future we will be able to detect how to interrupt it, putting an end to the trend of obese mothers, obese children.

"In countries where surrogacy is permitted we will be able to attribute more importance to the history of the pregnant woman ’s habits prior to pregnancy.”

Sources: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/mums-donor-egg-implants-babies-6518332

REPRODUCTION OUTSOURCED

Need laws to protect surrogate, parents, child

Adi Dubash, a biology professor, and Michael Upshaw, a speech language pathologist, in the United States, have once again brought to focus, the issue of surrogacy in India. Married in 2011, this same-sex couple desired a child through surrogacy in India. However, as per Indian law, same-sex couples with foreign nationality or single foreigners cannot commission surrogacy here; this, while single Indians can seek surrogacy. Lest the issue be reduced to a narrow debate on Indian lawmakers' apparent insensitivity to homosexuality, or even their xenophobia, there is a need to understand the rationale behind such a provision.

Given the innumerable instances where a surrogate child has been abandoned by the intended parents without a thought to the fate of the surrogate mother or the child's imperiled future, stringency is welcome. Legal since 2002, commercial surrogacy in India is plagued by severe misuse. The shocking case of an Australian couple forsaking one of their twin babies born to an Indian surrogate only because they already had a child of the same sex, highlighted the need to urgently streamline this huge but unregulated sector. In 2008 it was left to the Supreme Court to intervene in a case where the commissioning parents were divorced during the pregnancy and the intended mother refused to accept the child.

As per current Indian laws, foreign couples seeking surrogacy have to provide a written undertaking from the country of their origin that a child born through surrogacy would be taken to their country. However, this provision alone has been unable to prevent misuse. A more comprehensive answer is available in the 2010 draft Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill pending in Parliament. Indeed, surrogacy is only a part of the proposed Bill which intends to be a legal umbrella that provides respite to childless couples while protecting surrogate mothers. Surrogacy, however, has been specifically vulnerable to abuse and misuse, compounded by the economics that compel women to become unsuspecting agents of this practice.

Therefore, there is urgent need for a fail-safe legal mechanism that guards the interests of the intended parents and the surrogate child through a monitoring system rigorously implemented. The Bill seeks to set up registered ART banks where interested parties can identify surrogates under legal supervision. This will provide surer financial guarantees to surrogate recruits who are currently routed through private IVF clinics and are, therefore, grossly underpaid. As envisioned in the Bill, professional surrogates would be eligible to register with these banks on the basis of their Aadhar cards which would thereby stem rampant exploitation. Admittedly, these provisions sound fine in principle but may not, in reality, provide instant remedy to all the ills, legal and ethical, that currently plague surrogacy in India. Lack of awareness is a major concern, a surrogate mother often ignorant of the terms of contract signed between involved parties. However, the passage of the draft ART Bill in Parliament would be a good place to begin.

Sources: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/edit/reproduction-outsourced.html

Lucy Liu: Role Model For Non-Traditional Families And Gestational Surrogacy

Lucy Liu probably doesn’t have a lot of free time to spend browsing the internet these days, as she is in her new full-time role of being a single mother to her infant son, Rockwell. But if she did take a moment between diaper changes and bottle feeds, she might find that she is being heralded as a bit of a hero among certain circles online.

People are saying that Lucy Liu is the epitome of a perfect example, a role model for non-traditional families which include single parent, same-sex, and other alternative families. Not only is Lucy Liu seemingly planning to raise her son as a single mother, but she also used a gestational surrogate to bring her child into the world.

Liu’s decision to become a single parent, to be part of a non-traditional family, did not come as a shock to anyone, even Perez Hilton.

Liu has stated in the past that she has never had a timeframe in which she would settle down, much less in a traditional manner.

Lucy Liu posted a picture of her son on Instagram shortly after he was born. The baby boy, who looks stunningly cute in the pictures, has been named Rockwell Lloyd Liu.

She later updated her Instagram with a newer photo of herself and her son, giving fans a better look at the little boy’s face. Lucy also took the opportunity to thank her fans for their messages of support.

A Lucy Liu representative, speaking to Us Weekly on behalf of the actress, said she was thrilled at having become a mother.

Lucy Liu is the not the first Hollywood star to use a gestational carrier for her baby, according to Yahoo. Though still not very common, surrogacy has been used by many celebrity couples in the recent past, with Jimmy Fallon and his wife, Nancy, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, and actress Nicole Kidman and her husband, Keith Urban, all becoming first-time parents through the help of a gestational carrier.

A gestational carrier is a woman who carries a child for another couple. In the process, egg from the biological mother and sperm from the father are combined in a lab dish (in-vitro fertilization), before implanting the fertilized embryo in a surrogate carrier. Though a single parent or a couple may choose surrogacy for various reasons, some common problems include fertility issues or structural abnormality of the uterus.

As far as the identity of Lucy Lui’s partner is concerned, it is probable that the actress used donor sperm cells for the fertilization process. She is known to be very reserved about her private life, though she has been linked to Noam Gottesman, Zach Helm, and Will McCormack in the past.

Lucy Liu first made her name through movies such as Kill Bill, Charlie’s Angels, and Kung Fu Panda. The 46-year-old actress plays Dr. Joan Watson on CBS’ Sherlock Holmes-inspired crime-drama, Elementary.

Sources: http://www.inquisitr.com/2451158/lucy-liu-role-model-for-non-traditional-families-and-gestational-surrogacy/

Roanoke couple documenting surrogacy journey meets their newborn baby

After 10 years of heartache, the kindness of a stranger changed the game for a Roanoke couple who wanted to start a family. On Friday, they finally got to hold their bundle of joy.

Friday morning, MarySusan and Brandon Williams welcomed Colin Anderson into the world, thanks to surrogate Autumn Anderson.

We’ve followed the William’s journey to parenthood and Autumn’s calling to give the gift of life.

Dr. Jill Gaines wanted to deliver the baby after helping the Williams through fertility struggles.

“It’s always an amazing experience, but especially MarySusan and Brandon. From day one, we bonded and to go through all of the tragedy in the heart ache and to watch them go through all of that and to finally have them hold a sweet baby in their arms,” Dr. Gaines explained.

Sources: http://wsls.com/2015/09/25/udate-roanoke-family-documenting-surrogacy-journey-meets-its-newborn-baby/

This same-sex couple has always wanted an Indian-origin baby, but our laws make it nearly impossible for them

While the old saying may claim that love is blind, more often than not it is the society that turns a blind eye to love. Or, the kind of love they think does not ‘qualify’ as love. Adi and Michael, who got married in October 2011, are a beautiful (and handsome) same-sex couple settled in the US, who have been wanting to have a child through surrogacy in India for years, but the law of the country has barred them from doing so.

The duo had initially hoped to adopt or avail complete surrogacy in India because Adi is Indian and grew up in Mumbai. His parents and extended family all continue to live in India. “We visit nearly every year, because family is so important to both of us. Having a child in India would help us celebrate Adi's heritage and culture while the child would grow up here in USA,” says Michael Upshaw, a speech language pathologist.

Unfortunately for this couple and all same sex couples, it has now become impossible to have a child through surrogacy in India. There has been a change in the requirements for entry into India for surrogacy for foreign nationals in July 2012. The notification from MHA is here. "According to this notification, the couple must be a man and woman married atleast for a period of two years. By this notification, same sex couples holding foreign nationality cannot take up surrogacy in India at the moment. Also, the country of origin of the intended parents must provide a letter that the child born through surrogacy would be able to take the child back to their country on its birth,” says Hari G Ramasubramanian, chief consultant, Indian Surrogacy Law Centre.

Infact, India does not even have a special legislation on surrogacy yet. The Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill is yet to be introduced in the parliament and is still in the drafting stage. “India has closed adoption and surrogacy options for same sex marriages; we were heartbroken to learn this and will do our best to stand with people or advocates who are fighting for this cause. Despite this setback, we are dedicated to growing our family and Indian culture will remain a priority for us,” says Adi Dubash, assistant professor of Biology at Furman University.

“We have always wanted to have a child, infact we hope to be able to have two one day. Now, we have contacted an adoption lawyer here in South Carolina and hope to start the adoption or surrogacy process as soon as possible. We would love to have our child through surrogacy; however, the costs are very high and we don't have the resources at this time,” the duo adds.

The two men met in graduate school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. They combined both Christian and Zoroastrian prayers and customs in their wedding held at the chapel in Northwestern University, where they were blessed by both set of parents and relatives.

Sources: http://www.ibnlive.com/news/buzz/this-same-sex-couple-has-always-wanted-an-indian-origin-baby-but-our-laws-make-it-nearly-impossible-for-them-1109624.html

Tough question

Sep 23, 2015- In the immediate aftermath of the April 25 quake, 26 newly born babies were evacuated by Israel from the disaster-stricken city of Kathmandu. The arrival of the infants—born to Indian surrogate mothers in Nepal—in Tel Aviv received extensive media coverage. Moving pictures of ecstatic same sex couples sparked an intense debate on the Israeli surrogacy law which only permits surrogacy for infertile heterosexual couples.
Soon after, there was widespread criticism   of the lopsided focus on the infants and not on the well-being of the surrogate mothers. The Attorney General of Israel, however, was quick to approve a plan to permit surrogate mothers carrying the fetuses of Israeli parents to enter the country. Meanwhile in Nepal, the entire episode came as a surprise to many.

To begin with, Nepal did not and still does not have any laws on surrogacy. But in December 2014 a Cabinet meeting decided to allow foreign couples to seek surrogacy services from foreign women in Nepal. Interestingly, this decision of the government coincided with the Indian government’s plan to present the Assisted Reproductive Technique Bill in the winter session of its Parliament. The bill was expected to further regulate India’s multi-billion dollar surrogacy industry but its legislature failed to pass it citing a lack of time. All the same, the Nepali government’s decision resulted in an influx of Indian surrogacy mothers. Reports of the exploitation of surrogate mothers along with the involvment of Nepali women soon followed. The clients are reportedly charged up to Rs 10 million for surrogacy services by the agencies that make all the arrangements, out of which the hospital receives Rs 4 million while surrogate mothers only receive Rs 300,000-400,000. Amidst all of this, last month, the Supreme Court directed the government to ban surrogacy until Nepal formulates laws on it. In response, the Cabinet decided to ban surrogacy services altogether last week.

Nepal’s tryst with surrogacy might have ended rather quickly but there are many unresolved issues. The fate of the surrogate mothers who are on their way to delivering the baby, for instance, remains unclear. The government should take the responsibility of meeting all their needs. It should also clarify its position on those women and if the infants born to them will face any legal hassles while leaving the country or not. They are, after all, the victims of the shortsightedness of the government. Furthermore, surrogacy was only permitted for foreign couples initially. The current ban, however, extends to Nepalis too. This is like throwing the baby out with the bath water as it could curtail the rights of same-sex couples and infertile heterosexual couples to have children. So, what the country needs is an extensive discourse on whether the state should allow surrogacy or not. The sudden manner in which surrogacy was first partially permitted and now banned does not do justice to this sensitive issue.

Sources: http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2015-09-23/tough-question.html

Surrogates helping more area couples expand their families

Snack time for every baby should be filled with this much love.

Little John has his mom Tara Morris with him and the woman who brought him into the world, Brooke Collawn.

“I can’t imagine not being a parent myself,” Collawn says with emotion.  “So to help others has been amazing.”

Collawn has been a surrogate for three different couples, all complete strangers at the beginning who are now bonded for life.  After having three sons with her husband and miscarrying a fourth child, Collawn decided to mend hearts for moms who couldn’t carry on their own.

“It can be a beautiful thing,” says Morris, explaining she already had son Tripp with her husband.  They desperately wanted another child, but a medication she needed to control an anxiety disorder prevented her from safely getting pregnant again.

On the very same day the Morrises explored their options with a fertility specialist and lawyer, both offices got a call from someone special who wanted to give another couple a gift.

“It was her,” Morris points to Collawn who sits next to her on the couch at her Charlottesville home.  “Through the lawyer and through the doctor’s office, it kinda came that way.”

“Yeah, we kinda felt like it was fate,” Collawn added.

Richmond surrogacy attorney Colleen Quinn recalls this relationship she helped make possible.

“Brooke Collawn is an amazing individual.”

This is just one of the arrangements she’s guided from start to finish at The Adoption and Surrogacy Law Center near Willow Lawn.

“I can easily say ten years ago I had done hundreds of surrogacy arrangements.  I can now say I’ve done thousands,” says Quinn.  “They definitely are happening at a pretty rapid rate.”

Quinn, who was working out five surrogacy contracts the day of our interview, says it is becoming more acceptable in Richmond.  What’s called compassion arrangements make up about a quarter of them.  That is when a sister or best friend carries for a woman who cannot.  The rest and overwhelming majority are matches made online, through clinics or lawyers.

“I kinda see it as long-term baby-sitting.  I know going into the process that the baby is not mine,” Collawn explains how she’s been able to carry children who would not be hers in the end.  “Just the look on the parents’ faces when you place that baby in their arms makes it all worthwhile.”

Quinn says it can take up to two years from start to baby.  The lengthy process involves a background check.  The surrogate must also be cleared by her Ob/Gyn and must pass psychological screenings.

“What is their motivation, and is it generally altruistic in nature?  Is this person going to be able to carry a child and then be able to detach?” Quinn goes down the list of questions considered.

Quinn says it is a must that both sides map out a plan together and get it in writing.  Her contracts include everything from whether some wine consumption is okay during the pregnancy to whether both sides are pro-choice or pro-life.

“How is this relationship going to process, how is it going to occur over the next year?” Quinn encourages her clients to address everything.

Quinn says a Virginia statute requires all surrogacy payments be tied to household living and medical expenses associated with the pregnancy, paid monthly over ten months.  From her experience, first-time carriers can expect about $18-25,000, but intended parents also pay all attorney fees.  Add-ons like life insurance policies, reimbursements for C-Section recovery and more are also often included in the contract.

According to Quinn, however, Virginia law is very complicated if a surrogate who uses her own egg decides she wants to keep the child.  There is no case law on point, but Quinn says it is likely the woman could get custody of the child.  The genetic father would ideally get visitation and a support obligation.  If the surrogate carries the intended parents’ fertilized egg, Quinn says it is unclear what would happen for a non-court approved contract.  It is why she recommends couples do their homework and put as much planning as possible into their arrangement.

“We do have occasional hiccups, but for the most part these arrangements if vetted well on the front end do amazingly well,” she says, noting her thousands of success stories, like the Collawn-Morris arrangement.

“Aunt Brooke,” as she is now called, is a big part of the lives of the children she carried.  She says she gained as much as she was able to give to the three couples she helped.  She is grateful for the beautiful friendships and beautiful babies she now has in her life.

Morris is too.

“She made our family complete,” she said.

Baby John turns one on Friday, September 25.  Collawn will be there for the festivities.

Sources: http://wric.com/2015/09/22/surrogates-helping-more-area-couples-expand-their-families/

Beyond the womb

Gordon Lake and Manuel Santos had a strong desire to be parents. With zero odds of a pregnancy, their only hope was a Thai surrogate.

The couple's dream to have a family, unfortunately, turned out to be a nightmare when their surrogate rescinded her agreement to hand over Carmen  -- born from Lake's sperm and another woman's egg  -- to the couple. To fight for parental rights Lake, who also fathered Alvaro, a two-year-old boy born through surrogacy in India, has been in Thailand since January.

"This is the most difficult time of our entire lives," conceded Lake, a 41-year-old American, in an email interview with Life. After months of struggles in Thailand, Lake decided to launch "Bring Carmen Home", an online petition on change.org to support him and his family to take eight-month-old Carmen back to Spain, Santos' home country. The petition has more than 120,000 supporters so far. He also set up a Facebook page where people share words of encouragement and sometimes financial aid to cover the family's legal expenses.

"We have already been in Thailand for more than eight months and this has obviously taken a toll on us in many ways  -- our family, jobs and our lives," Lake added "We have been away from our family for so long and we have had so many extra expenses We just want to be home -- all four of us together."

Even though Carmen was born from Lake's sperm, Thai law grants custody of a child to its birth mother, regardless of any biological ties.

However, recently the National Legislative Assembly enacted the Protection for Children Born through Assisted Reproductive Technologies Act, allowing Lake to see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Nicknamed the "surrogacy law", the act was put into effect on July 30.

The American is not the only one who has been embroiled in a surrogacy gridlock in Thailand, a country known to many as the womb of Asia, where the baby-producing industry is worth more than 4 billion baht, according to figures from the Bureau of Sanatorium and Art of Healing.

Set aside same-sex couples choosing surrogacy as a means to build a family, there have also been cases of people deliberately exploiting surrogacy for human trafficking such as Japanese businessman Mitsutoki Shigeta, who reportedly fathered 12 babies with Thai surrogates.

A lawyer from the Law Reform Commission of Thailand, Apichat Pongsawat, said that this newly-enforced surrogacy law is the first of its kind in the country.

"Before this, the country only relied on the Medical Council's policy when coming to terms with cases associated with reproductive technology," explained Apichat. "And the regulation only allowed couples  -- husband and wife  -- with medical issues to opt for surrogacy. The new law is quite similar in principle but it covers more, in detail."

In a nutshell, the act allows surrogacy for lawfully wedded couples where the wife cannot get pregnant. The woman who is to serve as the surrogate must be a blood relative of either the husband or the wife, but not the couple's parents or descendants. Also, the surrogate must have had a previous pregnancy, gain the approval of her husband (if she is married) and her eggs cannot be used. If the surrogate is single, no permission is required from anyone.

The new act outlaws surrogacy for commercial purposes, making anyone involved for financial profit subject to up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 200,000 baht. In terms of custody, the new law states that the couple that seeks surrogacy are the legal parents of the child. The surrogate has no legal rights over the baby she gives birth to. However, same-sex couples are not covered under the new law.

"The law completely shuts the door for same-sex couples," said Apichat. "Given the fact that the law is aimed to provide couples with reproductive issues a chance to have a baby, we should give the same chance to homosexual couples too because they also fall into this category."
The surrogacy law has been criticised as being discriminating and infringing the rights of several groups of people, especially children born through surrogacy and surrogates themselves, said Suchada Taweesit, president of the Sexuality Studies Association at Mahidol University's Institute for Population and Social Research.

"The new surrogacy law reflects prejudices that have existed in society," Suchada stressed. "The enforcement outlaws commercial surrogacy but it does not take into account that the entire surrogacy issue, in fact, reflects social inequality. The law is well-intentioned, but it still violates people's rights." Women are treated as inferiors by the new law, continued Suchada.

"From my studies, most surrogates decide to get pregnant because they are impoverished or in debt. All this leads to surrogacy for [financial] profits. So the women should have the right to make their own choices. The womb belongs to the woman. So why does she need to ask her husband's permission to serve as a surrogate? At the same time, children born through a surrogate should have the right to know who gave birth to them."

Suchada said that one perk of the surrogacy law is that it throws cold water on medical practitioners and agencies, who may take financial advantage of the procedure. But instead of enforcing regulations that strip the rights off some groups of people, the law should be accompanied by a more comprehensive screening and monitoring protocol, both before and after surrogacy, to prevent it from being abused.

"The law should examine [surrogacy] agencies carefully and check if they all are legally licensed," Suchada added. "Women who are to become surrogates must also be investigated to see if they have any suspicious background, which could potentially lead to human trafficking. This is because if we do not do all these things right in the first place, surrogacy will definitely go underground because those who wish to have babies are still willing to do anything to have them.

"And this is likely to bring about more human rights infringements."    

Director of the Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand and gender activist Danai Linjongrut said the surrogacy law is too narrow and it is not based on what has actually happened in society.

"Surrogacy is a new social issue. But the law was written and put into action based on the old mindset that parents must comprise a woman and a man, no one else," said Danai. "So to offer the best benefit to all parties concerned, every surrogacy-related issue must be discussed openly without discrimination. If it is surrogacy for money, for example, then it should also be discussed as to why and how to make it reasonable based on the country's family planning protocol.

"Carmen is one of the great lessons for every one of us," he added. "From her, we do not just learn about the legal aspect of surrogacy. We also learn about sexuality, family and equality."

As a father, Lake only wants to give Carmen all the opportunities in the world -- to be the happiest person she can be, send her to an international school so that she speaks several languages and bring her up to be a loving and caring girl.

But in the meantime, while he is stuck in Thailand fighting for custody, he is hopeful that the surrogacy law and its temporary exceptions would eventually give him the legal right to be called Carmen's father.

"The law itself outlaws surrogacy for all foreigners," said Lake. "But there are also temporary provisions, which are defined that it is in the best interest of the child born through surrogacy that the child's legal parent be the biological parent  -- the parent who wanted her so badly, not a surrogate who agreed to carry the birth for another family.

"Just because a surrogate carries a child, that doesn't mean that she would be a better parent for the child," he added. "Just because the surrogate is a woman, it doesn't mean she would be a better parent for the child It is well documented internationally that two fathers can be good parents, too. And we have shown that we are excellent parents who love our children very much."

Sources: http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/social-and-lifestyle/702456/beyond-the-womb

What to consider when exploring surrogacy

Gestational Surrogacy – in which a woman agrees to carry an embryo to term on behalf of a couple – can be a wonderful way to expand your family. The advances in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) that make this possible are incredible! However, as seen in so many celebrity headlines over the past few months, the legal side of the equation hasn’t quite caught up with the medical side. Couples and would-be surrogates embarking on this journey need to pay extra attention to protecting all those involved, in the face of any potential challenges.

Some recommendations on what to consider:

While some states have statutes that strictly govern the use of surrogacy and agreements, others – such as North Carolina - have no statutory authority. As such one must not only consider where they (as the Intended Parents – “IP’s”) reside but where the gestational surrogate resides as well. Contracts must be drafted to protect both the IP’s and the Surrogate and they must follow any applicable laws in the state where the IP or Surrogate reside.

· Once a Surrogate is determined, the IP’s and the Surrogate would then work closely with their own attorney to draft an Agreement that governs the rights, responsibilities and liabilities of each party, and establishes the rights and legal responsibilities for the child.

· Other critical options to consider: whose genetic material will be used to create the embryo? For same sex male couples, medical tests may determine who is more viable or if both men are healthy donors, there is always the option to implant two embryos, one from each male donor, and take the gamble on one or both becoming viable and healthy babies. For same sex female couples, again medical tests may determine whom is the best carrier. Parties can also consider one to carry and the other female to donate the egg.

· What happens if you opt to freeze remaining healthy embryos and the parties later separate and/or divorce? Are the embryos property? Who gets possession of the embryos? There is case law evolving as couples divorce and then battle it out over the remaining embryos. Of late, most courts are ruling in favor of the party whose desire it is to not procreate – but that may change over time and depending on the facts and circumstances.

· Does the state you live in allow for the IP’s to have a pre-birth Order? Once the Surrogate reaches viability, typically 26 weeks, some states will then issue a pre-birth order to the IP’s. The pre-birth order would allow the IP’s names to be listed as the legal parents on the birth certificate once the child is born.

All of these options should be considered when thinking about using a Surrogate. While the path may vary, and while you may hit a few bumps or a fork in the road, if you proceed with caution and obtain legal advice from an attorney experienced in ART, the journey should be a smooth one – and the end result will be nothing short of a miracle.

Sources: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/health-family/moms/article35890836.html