Surrogacy Community

A new photographic exhibition to open in Sydney’s inner-west later this month will take a look at the families of same-sex parents, with the images to highlight similarities rather than the differences of queer families to opposite-sex families.

The Just families exhibition consisting of 17 images by photographer Ginette Snow will be on display at INDEX, St Peters for three weeks from May 24 as part of the Head On Photo Festival.

Snow was inspired to document same-sex families after her 35-year-old gay son and his long-term partner became parents for the first time with the birth of twins after a surrogacy process in the United States.
Having travelled to the US to support her son with his newborn twins, Snow met another Australian gay couple at a local hospital who also just had twins.

She offered to take photos of the couple and their family and since then the project has grown to involve 23 families with gay parents from all around Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra as well as rural NSW.

Snow said as a supporter of marriage equality she found it hard to accept that the Australian Government continued to deny marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples, particularly after seeing the love and happiness within so many families with same-sex parents.

“These parents are the same sex but that’s where the differences end, they still face the same issues as other parents such as balancing parenthood and work.

“What I have seen in all these families is just a lot of love,” Snow said.

“The kids are happy, the parents are happy and there’s a wonderful feeling of family. I hope that’s what people will see in my photos.”

Article: http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/news-2/6173-we-re-all-just-families.html

Aamir Khan

When a fresh-faced Aamir became an instant teen idol in 1988’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, it would have been easy to pigeonhole him as another star kid with a ready-made launch pad to stardom. But in truth, his illustrious family’s star had been in decline for almost a decade. His father and uncle, Tahir and Nasir Hussain, had produced, directed, written and acted in such blockbusters as Paying Guest (1957), Teesri Manzil (1966), Caravan (1971), Anamika (1973) and Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973). By the time the Eighties rolled round however, the Hussains’ best years were behind them.

Till then, the family had left all attempts at leading man roles to Tahir and Nasir’s nephew, Tariq Khan, who starred in lost-and-found formula hits Yaadon Ki Baraat and Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin but had no success in scoring non-Hussain produced films. That changed with Aamir. As a child, Aamir appeared briefly in Yaadon Ki Baraat and Madhosh (1974). At 19, he made a largely unnoticed debut in Ketan Mehta’s Holi (1984). Four years later, he made a blistering breakthrough opposite Juhi Chawla in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, a desi version of Romeo And Juliet. In the film, a song and dance number had Aamir singing ‘papa kehte hain bada naam karega, beta hamara bada kaam karega’ - a prediction that proved over the years to be entirely justified.

As the resourceful, lovable Raj from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Aamir’s chocolate boy appeal guaranteed him a top spot at the box office, jostling for space with the other heartthrob of the time, Salman Khan. But it became clear very quickly that Aamir was not going to take the beaten track to fame. His next film was the critically-acclaimed but box office turkey, Raakh (1989) - a dark, gritty examination of violence against women and revenge, a film as far removed from a box office formula hit as could be. Even at twentysomething, Aamir showed himself sensitive to films that aspired to evolve beyond entertainment and froth. Later, he would appear in films that dealt with themes as diverse as dyslexia (Taare Zameen Par) and disaffected youth (Rang De Basanti).

Over the next few years, he had mixed success. For every Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1991) there was an Awwal Number (1990) and an Afsana Pyar Ka (1991). His best partnership was with frequent collaborator Juhi Chawla, most notably in Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), but he also starred opposite big name Madhuri Dikshit in Dil (1990) and ’80s glamour-girl Farha in Jawani Zindabad (1990). Aamir proved himself a versatile hero, with a flair for comedy that he used to great effect in Andaz Apna Apna (!994), a cult comic caper also starring Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapur.

Other landmark films in Aamir’s career were Rangeela (1995), Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995) and Sarfarosh, all of which marked his final break with cutesy romantic roles. Then, in 2001, Aamir produced and starred in Lagaan, an unlikely tale of a colonial-era village forced into playing a game of cricket with their British overlords to get out of a tax trap. As the fiery, idealistic young leader Bhuvan, Aamir trailed clouds of glory all the way from the box office to the next year’s Academy Awards. Lagaan was the third Indian movie to make the Best Foreign Film cut, after Mother India and Salaam Bombay, and while it didn’t win, it helped overturn the stereotype of the Bollywood potboiler. Like arthouse cinema, mainstream Bollywood could also make films with heart.

Surely after Lagaan there was no way but down for Aamir to go? Almost immediately, he proved pundits wrong with Dil Chahta Hai (2001). Then with Rang De Basanti (2006). Then with Taare Zameen Par (2007). Then with 3 Idiots (2009). And now, with TV show Satyamev Jayate, a hardhitting look at social injustices. The debut episode, focusing on female foeticide, broke the Internet, dominating Twitter trends. Unprecedented surfer traffic brought down the Satyamev Jayate website. Like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan before him, Aamir had conquered television.

Aamir was already married to childhood sweetheart Reena at the time of his Bollywood blast off in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, news that broke any number of hopeful female hearts around the country. They have two children. Aamir and Reena’s 15 year marriage ended in 2002. In 2005, Aamir married Kiran Rao, who he met on the sets of Lagaan. In December 2011, the couple announced the arrival of their son, Azad, who they said was born via a surrogate mother.

Aamir has also shown a passion for causes he believes in. He has participated in Medha Patkar’s Narmada demonstrations, and most recently in Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption crusade.

But perhaps, the thing that has endeared him most to fans and critics alike is not the constant reinvention of himself nor his disregard for Bollywood politenesses - it is the fact that he made time to attend the Varanasi wedding of the son of auto driver Ram Lakhan, a friend he made while travelling incognito around the country some years ago. Not something your average superstar would do.

Article: http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?ID=ENTEN20120202123&keyword=bollywood&subcatg=MOVIESINDIA&nid=207389

Giuliana and Bill Rancic on finding a surrogate: ‘We hit the gestational carrier lottery!’

The TV host said she chose to use a surrogate for fear of cancer complications

After years of trying to grow their family, Giuliana and Bill Rancic announced Monday that they’ll soon be expecting a tiny bundle of joy — with a little outside help.

The couple, who were excited to share their happy news with fans, explained that their bun in the oven comes courtesy of a surrogate in Colorado that they met through their fertility doctor.

“[She's] a really nice girl who comes from a good family,” Giuliana told Us Weekly. “Knock on wood, but I think we hit the gestational carrier lottery!”

It was a decision they made with consideration to both the baby’s health and Giuliana’s, Bill, 40, told the magazine.

“If she’d gotten pregnant [after being diagnosed with breast cancer], it probably wouldn’t have been a very good outcome because of all the hormones,” the doting husband told the magazine. “It would have made the cancer surge. So this was the best option.”

When Giuliana first learned of her cancer in 2011, Bill said, the couple decided to have the TV host’s embryos frozen.

“The baby is 100% genetically ours,” Bill explained. “It’s our embryo.”

Giuliana, 37, has had her share of travails in the fertility game.

After suffering a miscarriage in 2010, Giuliana and her husband tried their hand at multiple attempts with IVF, but with no success.

PREGNANCY & NUTRITION

“I was angry at life and at God,” Giuliana said at the time of having a miscarriage at nine weeks.
Now, however, the couple is looking forward to welcoming their long-awaited baby in the summer.
“Everything happens for a reason, and we believe this is meant to be and the way it was supposed to work out,” Bill said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/giuliana-bill-rancic-chose-a-surrogate-fear-cancer-complications-article-1.1066618#ixzz1t0brxTcm

A mother who had a baby through a surrogate has launched landmark legal action for the right to paid maternity leave.

The woman, who has been allowed to remain anonymous by judges, was refused the leave by her employer when she became a mother.

She is suing her employer, alleging sex and maternity discrimination, and has taken her case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to decide whether the British laws comply with European Union directives, which could force a change in the rules. The court is expected to make a decision later this year.

An estimated 70 women became mothers through surrogates last year and campaigners say they deserve the same rights as other women.

Natalie Gamble, an expert in fertility law, said that only mothers who were pregnant or those who have adopted are entitled to take maternity leave under the existing rules, which left “a gap” in cases where mothers used surrogates.

Stuart Walne, a spokesman for Surrogacy UK, a support organisation, said the rules created an added “trauma” for these women, who faced disputes over paid leave.

The woman started working as a midwife sonographer for her employer in July 2001. Her baby was born through a surrogate mother in August last year and the woman began breastfeeding the child soon after the birth, something that can be induced through hormone treatments and drugs.

Her employer offered a career break, reduced hours and unpaid leave, but refused to give her maternity leave, so she went to an employment tribunal. It ruled that the issue had to be decided by the ECJ.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that there were no plans to change the law regarding people who have a child through surrogacy.

John Read, an employment law expert at XpertHR, a human resources website, said: “Under UK law, mothers who have a baby via a surrogate mother and assume responsibility for it under a parental order are not entitled to the same rights and protection, for example regarding discrimination, as mothers who give birth or adopt.

“It’s unclear whether the EU legislation from which these rights derive covers surrogate mothers, and the tribunal will ask the ECJ to clarify this. If the ECJ decides that surrogate mothers are covered, our courts will need to interpret UK law to give effect to this, until Parliament amends the legislation.

“It is extremely unusual for a tribunal to make a referral to the ECJ, but the tribunal found no case law to help it determine the issue.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/9150470/Surrogacy-mother-launches-maternity-leave-challenge.html

The Tasmanian Government is optimistic the Upper House will pass laws allowing all couples to use a surrogate to conceive a child.

The Government has agreed to revise its surrogacy laws after an Upper House committee found the bill fails to adequately protect children.

The bill allows all couples, including gay and de facto, to conceive through a surrogate.

But the legislation has been in limbo since last year when the Legislative Council blocked debate to allow a review.

A committee subsequently found major flaws in the bill and the Government has accepted 10 of its 21 recommendations, foreshadowing major amendments on the floor of the house.

Committee chairwoman, Murchison MLC Ruth Forrest, says she will try to amend the legislation so the state’s adoption agency is responsible for overseeing surrogacy cases.

“These are not amendments that have been thought up on the run, these are amendments that have been well considered by the committee.”

Mrs Forrest says it will not necessarily lead to delays.

“It’s really up to the Government now.”

The Attorney-General, Brian Wightman, says he is optimistic the bill will win Legislative Council approval.
The Upper House will debate the bill next week.

In precedent-setting ruling, judge rules mother can undergo DNA testing to determine her maternity.

The biological mother of twins born in a surrogacy procedure does not have to formally adopt her babies, the Tel Aviv District Family Court decided in a precedent setting ruling published Wednesday.

The twin babies were born last month to Jewish Israeli parents, the result of a surrogacy procedure carried out in Tbilisi, Georgia. The case came to court after Interior Ministry had opposed the couple’s request for an injunction formally naming them as the children’s parents.

The parents said they had decided to use the surrogacy procedure after attempts to conceive naturally failed. The twins were born following an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure, in which an embryo was created using father’s sperm and the mother’s eggs and successfully implanted into a surrogate mother’s uterus. After the births, the couple requested to be listed as parents on the babies’ birth certificates, so that the children could be entered into the Population Register and passports issued to bring them to Israel.

The Interior Ministry objected, saying that only the father was allowed to undergo paternity testing to determine his relationship to the babies, but that the mother would have to apply for adoption.

The ministry argued that Israeli law provides three ways to achieve parental status: biological parenthood, adoption, or receiving a court order following a surrogacy process carried out under the Surrogacy Law.
Israeli law, the ministry said, did not apply to surrogacy procedures carried out abroad.

Further, the ministry argued that Israeli law provides that in cases of egg donation, only the birth mother is considered the mother of a baby, not the egg donor.

The parents said there was “no justification for seeking to impose a bizarre procedure” whereby only the father could be registered as the babies’ biological parent, and argued that the Interior Ministry was violating both their and the twins’s basic rights under Israeli and international law.

Judge Shifra Glick noted that Israeli law has yet to include regulations regarding surrogacy procedures carried out abroad, but until the law is amended it should not act to the detriment of Israeli couples who undertake such procedures.

The judge ruled that both parents will undergo DNA testing in Israel to determine their parental relationship with the twins.

Source: http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=260814

Two female national lawmakers called for legislation against surrogacy on Wednesday, arguing possible ethical and legal chaos.

Wu Donglan, deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC) from central China’s Hunan province, said at the ongoing national parliamentary session that surrogacy would break traditional parenthood standards and cause ethical problems, although it could also bring hope to couples facing fertility problems.

She made the proposal in the wake of news in south China’s Guangdong province that a woman, together with two hired surrogates, gave birth to a total of four boys and four girls.

“The child becomes a commodity and the body of a woman becomes a tool for production, which are against traditions, customs and ethics,” she said.

It will also cause legal disputes concerning fostering, parental support and inheritance, she said.

Qin Xiyan, another NPC deputy also from Hunan, supported Wu’s argument.

“Currently, no laws have clearly regulated surrogacy, nor does the criminal code include penalties for offenders,” said Qin, who is also a lawyer.

Only a regulation issued by the Ministry of Health has regulated that medical institutions will be warned and fined for illegally conducting surrogacy operations, which is hardly an effective punishment for offenders, she said.

Although not totally against surrogacy, Qin argued that laws should at least ban illegal surrogacies, and those seriously at odds with the law should be prosecuted.

Both women also suggested that legislation should be enacted to ban profit-seeking surrogacy brokerage agencies and clarify which government department should supervise this issue and how.

source: http://english.cri.cn/6909/2012/03/07/53s685513.htm

Under California law, surrogates must enter the agreement with prospective parents before the embryonic transfer.

The woman convicted and sentenced for her role in a baby-selling ring said there need to be changes in the surrogacy industry and in state law to avoid similar illegal operations in the future.

Surrogacy and adoption in California is a “billion-dollar industry” that is “corrupt” and needs to be changed according to former high-profile surrogacy attorney Theresa Erickson.

Erickson, who is now headed to federal prison, called herself the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to people abusing the system.

The Poway resident will spend five months in prison and nine months in home confinement for her role in the operation that sent would-be surrogates to the Ukraine to receive embryo transfers.

Once the women reached their second trimester, the attorneys then sold the unborn baby to unsuspecting parent claiming a prior surrogacy agreement had fallen through.

Under California law, surrogates must enter the agreement before the embryonic transfer.

Federal prosecutors said Erickson worked with Carla Chambers of Las Vegas, Nevada and Hilary Neiman of Maryland to create an “inventory of unborn babies.”

The women then submitted court documents claiming the surrogacies were legitimate.

After the papers were filed, Erickson would add the names of the parents who had purchased the child.
The group made $400,000 in profit from the sale of parental rights prosecutors said. Erickson estimated she profited about $70,000 over the course of six years.

In an exclusive interview with NBCSanDiego, Erickson said she has disgraced her profession and her family and broke an oath she vowed she would never, ever violate.

However, she believes the alternative family building process is confusing to many.

“Legal has not caught up with medicine and medicine has created this technology that the law hasn’t kept up with,” Erickson said referring to the surrogacy industry as the “Wild, Wild West.”

Erickson, who closed her practice and resigned from the legal profession, said she would like to see a change in state law and new guidelines put in place.

“The industry has tried to do it for years and the industry hasn’t done much of anything and it needs to be done,” she told NBCSanDiego.

She believes people in the industry initially get involved to help people. She herself was a donor and had infertility within her own family. Ultimately though, she said there is the temptation of money.
“They want things to stay the way they are because of the money but it just can’t stay the way they are, it just can’t,” she said.

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy released this statement regarding Erickson’s sentencing:

“The surrogacy laws were enacted to protect both unborn babies and parents seeking children. Erickson abused her position as a trusted legal advisor and officer of the court by circumventing the law and undermining the rights of children and intended parents. Out of sheer greed Erickson preyed upon people’s most basic need: to raise a child. We cannot and will not allow individuals like Erickson to profit by taking advantage of vulnerable people who have a sincere desire to lawfully adopt and parent children.”

Erickson, who practiced law for a decade, regrets losing her law license.

She put herself through law school raising her two children with a husband in the military.

She said her law license may be reinstated depending on a decision from the state bar.
However, Erickson said the most difficult realization for her was the damage she did to the victims in the case.
“That was truly the hardest, and I mean that from my heart,” she said.

Source: Convicted Surrogacy Attorney: I’m Tip of Iceberg | NBC San Diego