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81 Supra 1 (2011-2012)

handle is hein.journals/missourc81 and id is 1 raw text is: NAVIGATING THE DIVERSE AND EVOLVING LAW OF GESTATIONAL SURROGACY Ashley W. Pittman* Gestational surrogacy has spun the conventional concept of family planning in an entirely new direction. Prior to medical ad- vancements in the area of assisted reproduction, if a woman was unable to carry a child to term, her only option was to adopt a child who was not biologically related to her. Today, there are op- tions. It is now possible, with the assistance of modern medicine and a gestational carrier, for an infertile couple to have biological- ly related children and continue to build their family despite the prior barriers posed by infertility. The process is nothing short of miraculous, but there are legal issues along the way which must be properly addressed in order to ensure that the intent and rights of all parties are clearly protected. The body of legal authority, while growing, is still relatively sparse, and specific to each state. The judges and practitioners must carefully navigate through the authority of varying jurisdictions-sometimes contradictory, sometimes nonexistent-in an effort to protect all parties while furthering their desired result-building a family. There are two generally accepted categories of surrogates: traditional surrogates and gestational surrogates. Prior to the in- troduction of in vitro fertilization, traditional surrogacy was the sole option available to an infertile woman. As a general concept, a traditional surrogate is artificially inseminated by, presumably, the intended father of the resulting child; thereby producing and carrying a fetus genetically related to the surrogate mother and intended father. After the birth of the child, the traditional surro- * Ashley W. Pittman practices with the law firm of Stubblefield & Yelverton, PLLC, located in Jackson, Mississippi, in the areas of reproductive law and surrogacy law, estate and business planning, probate, asset protection strategies, charitable planning and taxation law. 1

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