ABA Family Legal Guide

Health-Care Law

Specific Issues in Health Care

Assisted Reproductive Technologies

When does the law come into play?

When the intended parents use their own gametes (egg and sperm) with assisted reproductive technology, the couple needs to make decisions about the creation, storage, use, and disposition of their embryos, and sign legal documents to that effect. However, the process is relatively clear of legal worries on the issue of the identity of the parents of the baby.

Courts generally have placed more weight on the intent of the parents to create a child, and on whether there is a genetic connection to the child. Courts consistently have held that a party should not be forced to be a genetic parent against his or her will. The bounds of the agreements among the parties who accept or relinquish their parenting responsibilities are appropriately left to legislatures, which have taken a range of approaches, from banning agreements to providing a legal framework for both the parties and judges to use in setting appropriate expectations for the arrangements.