The Case for Rights for IVF children and families

There is little doubt left that IVF/surrogacy laws are in its infancy worldwide. The situation is exasperated where IVF/surrogacy laws are not far-reaching. There is NO doubt the future will bring equal rights for IVF children and families while in the interim there are innocent lives being victimized. There are both sides of the spectrum – places where IVF/Surrogacy is completely banned to allowance of IVF/Surrogacy with the best interest of the infertile parents in mind and NOT the best interest of the IVF child. Even if one disagrees with a total ban approach, at least its clear, NO IVF child which in some cases maybe better than creating an IVF child and placing them in LEGAL LIMBO and making them STATELESS due to no fault of their own.

It is about moving forward and envisioning a world where equal rights for the entire IVF ecosystem exists – the IVF child, donors, surrogates, and the parents who may be infertile or dysfertile. The canaries in the coal mine miraculously survived. So let’s make the case and have a discussion which is long overdue and is victimizing innocents. Let put children FIRST.

1) Precedence of International laws for children – If there are international laws for child abduction and child adoption, why not international laws for IVF/surrogacy children in the best interest of the child?

2) Precedence of immigration laws for LGBTI – If there are immigration rights for spouses of LGBTI, why not immigration rights for IVF/Surrogacy children regardless of parent’s gender? For example, can an immigrant IVF father legally bring an IVF child born outside the US born with his biological sperm and help of compassionate anonymous egg donor and surrogate? Gays, single fathers, spouses of intersex are some of the people affected.

3) Non-biological parents of IVF children – If non-biological parents can be EQUALLY loving, then why not allow legal immigration of IVF/Surrogacy children by non-biological parents? For example, what if an IVF clinic accidentally swaps the sperm sample and now there is NO DNA match between the IVF parent and IVF child? What should happen to the IVF child who cannot legally immigrate? Are we going to say that “scientific accidents” and “human error” NEVER happens? Ask Madam Curie. As an IVF family, we need a legal framework to move forward in life. Or are we condemning infertile or dysfertile people same way as places which BAN Surrogacy/IVF outright – in the absence of adequate laws, the result is same even though the intent may not be. We need protection from IVFphiles.

4) Human organ transplant – People who donate their organs either while alive or after their death are very noble. There are ethics surrounding each scenario and laws too. The “time window” for organ transplant is very “small” as the organs deteriorate quickly when left outside the human body. The “time window” to give innocent, voiceless IVF children equal rights is “small” because with time and lost childhoods, their innocence is lost quickly with possible trauma for a lifetime.

5) Organ Transplant while alive and after death – There is a difference between organ transplant while alive or after death. The ethics are are slightly different and thats why it is necessary to make a distinction. For a live organ transplant, both the donor (typically, a family member) and the receiver have rights and laws that govern the safety and health of both. There is even a organ donor advocate who looks out for their best interest even though lot of emotions may be involved due to the receiver being a close family member. Why are there NO laws to govern the rights of an IVF child? Why are there NO laws to govern the rights of a donor or surrogate in an IVF procedure? While socially a parent is defined by the LOVE for a child and biology should NOT matter but laws for IVF children and families are OPPOSITE and so we need to discuss “biology”.

6) Lack of laws – Anyone who claims we have laws for the entire IVF ecosystem is either fooling themselves OR has never experienced IVF firsthand. That’s why we need an IVF Movement to educate and spread awareness to get change. What we have is a start, a legal framework for IVF/Surrogacy in its infancy, we have a long way to go and lot more work to do. In a democracy, every minority needs to garner support from the majority who may have NEVER experienced the same issues and have EQUAL laws passed – thats how our system works.

For discussion sake, in a world where both mothers and fathers are EQUAL and can LOVE a child EQUALLY and can be the PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER EQUALLY, from a legal perspective, should taking a sperm or egg or a womb from someone treated as “organ transplant”? It is anatomy of the human body. At least should similar ethics, laws be in place to EQUALLY protect the best interest of the IVF child, the donor and the receiver? In case of gays or single fathers, how will we address this where ‘NO LEGAL MOTHER” exists even though a physical mother exists?

This in NO way is an exhaustive list for reasons and urgency to have EQUAL rights for IVF children and families. The intent is to SPARK a discussion which is long overdue and its about time to have the right to say the TRUTH and demand and deserve equal justice for all. Living in secrecy and shadows at the cost of threats and offending someone is NOT going to solve any issues, TRUTH will help us move forward.