Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) provides an option to infertile couples or an individual to have their child/ children by opting surrogacy.
Advanced reproductive technology has invented in-vitro-fertilization which is an alternative method to create an embryo by laboratory-based fertilization and implantation of the created embryo for achieving pregnancy.
In surrogacy, a surrogate becomes pregnant on behalf of the infertile intended mother and after delivering the child relinquish to intended parents.
Therefore, the requirement of legal contract or agreement between intended parents and surrogates is very important in the surrogacy process.
Surrogacy law varies from country to country and usually has many complications.
Ever aspects involve in the surrogacy process including medical cost bearing responsibility in case of altruistic surrogacy, payment method to a surrogate (if commercial surrogacy), parental rights, the decision to use egg and/ or sperm donor are included in a surrogacy agreement.
Most legal advisors advise one should consult with a lawyer before processing the surrogacy agreement.
The following are some reasons for involving a surrogacy lawyer in a surrogacy arrangement.
Experience
A lawyer who has previous experience to conduct surrogacy agreement, he/ she can guide prospective parents and surrogates about their rights according to the law of the surrogacy of that particular country.
Prospective parents can get the idea of the requirement of a time frame to build the agreement, expeditor, steps involve in the process, what are the possible ethical issues can arise.
Along with these, individuals can clarify all legal quires associated with the surrogacy process and their consequences before starting the treatment procedure.
Authenticity
In surrogacy, the selection of intended parents and surrogates both are critical.
Any wrong motive can change the objective of the whole procedure.
The emotional load in surrogacy is very high, which can also create unnecessary tension.
Therefore, the involvement of legal authority gives a weightage to the authenticity of the process.
Locating potential candidates
Locating and matching potential candidates including both intended parents and surrogates is an essential aspect to run the surrogacy successfully.
Involving a lawyer helps to find out the appropriate match because the lawyer takes all the detail information of both the parties to prepare a surrogacy contract.
Any doubtful information at the initial stage of contract development can hold the process and helps to avoid any mishap.
Skills
An experienced surrogacy lawyer and his or her subordinate staffs have the skill to collect accurate references and investigate the background of a potential surrogate, which is also important for successful surrogacy procedures.
Screening
If requires, a surrogacy lawyer also provides the necessary details of the medical and psychological professionals who have experienced in the screening of potential candidates.
Monitory involvement
A lawyer who has previous experience in the field of surrogacy can help to settle the monitory expense by considering all the necessary customary charges involve in the surrogacy procedure and avoid to agree on an inappropriate amount.
It is often difficult for intended parents to discuss such sensitive matters with surrogates.
Management of the relationship between the surrogate and intended parents
Surrogacy lawyers also help to build and maintain a relationship between fixing the degree and frequency of contact and involvement during the gestational period considering the comfort and suitable match of both the parties.
Resolution of dispute
Surrogacy lawyer also acts as an intermediator between intended parents and surrogate who can resolve any disagreement creates between intended parents and surrogate during pregnancy to avoid pregnancy.
Drafting a contract
A surrogacy lawyer can draft an enforceable surrogacy contract, which points out all the important issues and the unforeseen event which may appear before, during, and after the pregnancy.
All legal rights of Child
After the birth of the child, all the legal activities including issuing the birth certificate, entering the parental name in the birth certificate, legal rights, citizenship need legal help and involvement of lawyer can help in all these aspects.
Ravi Sharma is a self-motivated, successful entrepreneur and has a solid experience in the fertility segment. and he is the director at ARTbaby Global (ARThealthcare). He is a pharmacy graduate with post-graduation in business administration and has 14 years of rich experience in the field of infertility segment. He loves to write about IVF, Surrogacy, and other ART (assisted reproductive technology) news, issues, and updates. He is a Pharmacy graduate (B. Pharm) and M.B.A (marketing).
His most recent success includes the successful launch of the medical tourism company, ARTbaby, which offers treatment options for infertility, egg donation, and surrogacy. He likes spending time with his family and writing about various aspects of IVF surrogacy and donating eggs.