[Deker]

I read somewhere that Georgia passed a bill that states embryo donation IS considered adoption in the eyes of the law. Does that mean I have to complete a homestudy before I can be matched? Will I also have to finalize the adoption in court after the baby is born?

[Ready2bMama]

http://www.examiner.com/x-6584-Minneapolis-Adoptive-Families-Examiner~y2009m7d2-New-law-first-in-nation-to-govern-embryo-adoptions

I take it this is what you're referring to.

My understanding is it covers embryo adoptions.

Are you doing embryo adoption? Are you working with an agency? Or are you working directly through a dr or clinic, which is actually embryo donation?

I guess I would go ahead and ask your dr/clinic what this means for you.

Here's the bill itself:
hb388.html

[Deker]

I'm considering using a clinic because none of the adoption agencies I've spoken to are singles/LGBT friendly.

[Breen31806]

Since I'm in FL I looked at the Georgia laws and spoke with some Georgia attorneys and basically you would have to go to court after the birth and legally adopt your babies and because you do this now you are able to take a portion of the adoption tax credit. This is what I was told. HTH

[kblythe]

I am an attorney in GA and the mother of a baby conceived through embryo donation. In the 2008 legislative session, some really awful, draconian laws were proposed that would have turned embryo donation into legal adoption with all of the attendent expenses. It also would have defined embryos as essentially humans, which would have made it illegal for them to be used for scientific purposes or destroyed. In other words, it would have put an end to IVF in Georgia because families who couldn't afford to store embryos forever could never risk having more embryos than they could transfer.

Fortunately, the law did not pass. What did pass simply recognizes that when an embryo is donated to another family, the birth family is also the legal family. the law gives you the option of also doing a fast-track adoption after the birth of the child. But my reading of the statute indicates that it is not legally required that you do so ... it would just be additional legal protection should anyone attempt to undo the donation and claim the biological parents as the legal parents.

I have not bothered looking into the fast track adoption. My embryo donation was anonymous, so I doubt Davis' bio-family could find him. Even so, the law in Georgia presumes that the birth mother is the legal parent. In other words, I'm not losing any sleep over this.

Hope this helps.

Kathryn.

P.S. If you live in Georgia, please take an interest when legislative bills are being debated. The idea that a special interest group could have hijacked the ART industry and taken medical decision-making authority away from doctors was truly frightening. Thankfully, the bill did not pass. But that is not to say it won't be brought back in some form during the next legislative session. We women who actually must resort to ART to create our families need to be proactive to protect our ability to conceive.