Compassion is a core quality in most women who help families with fertility challenges by becoming a surrogate. But there are two kinds of surrogacy — compensated and altruistic. Unlike many other nations, the United States allows surrogates to receive reasonable...
HENNEPIN COUNTY ADOPTION LAW BLOG
What payment options exist if insurance won’t cover my IVF procedure?
One of the biggest obstacles for couples facing infertility issues is the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART). IVF is the most widely-used and effective ART method for couples who want to conceive a child. The average...
Navigating the confusing path between assisted reproduction and adoption
Imagine deciding to grow your family and going through in vitro fertilization (IVF) with your partner resulting in your healthy son being born but being told by a judge that you cannot be the child’s legal parent. That’s what happened to a Colorado same-sex couple...
What are the success rates for IVF procedures?
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) helps individuals or couples experiencing fertility issues. ART involves complex medical procedures affecting sperm, eggs or gametes that can increase the chances of pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...
What requirements do sperm donors face?
Sperm donations are crucial for many families who must turn to assisted reproduction methods to have a family or add to their existing family. Donors can be anonymous or known to the recipient. When donated sperm fertilizes mature eggs in a lab, it’s known as in vitro...
3 options for same-sex couples looking to adopt in Minnesota
For nearly a decade same-sex couples in Minnesota have had their marriages legally recognized by state law since Minnesota made its marriage law gender-neutral in 2013. Since then, while same-sex couples have enjoyed many rights that accompany a legal marriage, they...
Who can be your family’s gestational carrier?
A gestational carrier is a woman into whose womb is transferred an embryo created with gametes (sperm or egg) other than her own that are selected by aspiring and intended legal parents who cannot gestate a child themselves. It may be both gametes of a heterosexual...
Endometriosis doesn’t have to limit your family
Many women who live with endometriosis are in a state of flux with their reproductive health. There are some treatments that can help stop the spread of endometriosis as well as some of the symptoms, but they are not without risk. Endometriosis has the potential to be...
Can a surrogate decide to keep the baby?
One thing that people worry about when they decide to use a surrogate is that the surrogate may want to keep the baby after the child is born. They don’t want there to be any legal drama at such an important time, and they certainly do not want to see their plans to...
Assisted reproductive advancements pose legal questions
Surrogacy has become a common practice in recent years as more people feel morally and legally comfortable with the process. Many heterosexual couples in Minnesota struggling to have a baby as well as same-sex couples desiring to become parents have found that...
