On October 21, 2016, I was honored to speak at the American Bar Association’s 2016 Fall Family Law Section CLE Conference on an international panel “The Commonwealth of ART”. The panel explored the similarities and differences between the Commonwealth countries of Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom as they approach difficult issues related to law […]
As a fertility law lawyer, I have had the pleasure to provide independent legal advice to a variety of sperm donors. Known sperm donation is an incredible gift to those seeking to create a family. If you are considering being a sperm donor the following are just a few considerations to think about before going […]
What are the options for a woman who wants to be a mom but who is in a romantic relationship with someone who doesn’t want a child? She can wait around and hope her partner changes his or her mind. That might work if she is 25 to 30 years old. If she is older […]
Craig Parkes and Matthew Hinton wanted to have a child. First they tried to do so with the help of a gestational carrier (surrogate mother) in India – but in the middle of the process India outlawed surrogacy for gay couples. They were finally able to have a baby with the help of the sister […]
The B.C. Court of Appeal has decided that sperm is property…at least sometimes. In a decision released in 2015, the Court considered an action brought by men who had stored their sperm in a sperm bank at UBC. The freezer in which the sperm was stored lost power and the sperm were damaged. The question […]
You may remember the story in the news about the first three-parent family in B.C. The three parents – two lesbians and the man who donated sperm for the conception of their child – agreed that all three of them would be parents. So the child’s birth certificate records three legal parents. How does that […]
On November 18, 2015 the decision of Findley v. Lee, a case before the San Francisco Superior Court, was released. The California decision highlights the significant importance of parties being fully aware, informed and understanding the nature and consequences of the “consents” before a party signs any agreements and/or consents required by fertility clinics. In […]
Thanks to Agnes Huang for passing on this story of a surrogate mom who learned she was carrying a child with congenital defects, and of the surrogate parents who no longer wanted the child. In BC, under the Family Law Act, a child is the child of the woman who gave birth to her, even […]
Finally, since March 2013, the law offers certainty to queers who want to become parents. For prospective queer parents, a donation of sperm or eggs is a necessity. Gay dads, couples with a trans parent, or infertile lesbians also need a surrogate (a woman who will carry the child). Sperm donors can be either known […]
