War Crimes and Its Effects on IVF Children

There are different wars throughout human history and innocent people – adults, grandparents, women, children, men who are displaced due to no fault of theirs. When parents are fleeing a country rampaged with war to save their lives and the lives of their children, what if their infant does not have a passport? Do they wait to apply for a passport to the government who is involved in a war or save their lives as they see best fit and flee the country without a passport for the child? In recent past, we have witnessed refugees in Syria, Afghanistan, Lybia, Iraq, Kosovo, Rwanda, East Timor, and so many other wars between us humans. In not too a distant past, people were fleeing with their families and children from dictator regimes, Nazi regime, and so on. Since the “official” status of such people are “refugees”, they are given asylum on humanitarian grounds including a VALID passport. What is the status of an IVF child who cannot get a PASSPORT? Are they a war time VICTIM?

Crimes Against Humanity – Effects on IVF children

If there are crimes against humanity, what do we call a situation where an “order” for an IVF child is placed in a foreign country and then the commissioning parent FAILS to show up when the IVF child is born to the surrogate in a foreign country? If its a commercial surrogate situation, what are the RIGHTS of the surrogate? Should she get paid and who will pay her? God forbid but what if the surrogate had died during child birth (some women do), who would be held accountable and responsible for it? Would it be the commissioning parent who is in a foreign country and free from prosecution of the local country? Fortunately, no one died and instead a lovely IVF child was born. Are they UNWANTED? There are situations where a mother dies during child birth, or a mother is unable to care for a child right after child birth due to her own personal medical condition, how do we DEFINE abandoning an IVF child? An IVF pregnancy is very much planned, deliberate and WANTED. Then what possible reasons could there be to ABANDON an IVF child? And what RIGHTS does the IVF child have? Do they have a RIGHT to a LEGAL identity like a PASSPORT?

In a recent case, an American woman who had opted for IVF/surrogacy in India was blessed with an IVF child. When she showed up to take delivery of the IVF child and due to some legal issues, she was UNABLE to secure an exit visa at first for the IVF child. As a result, she could not take the IVF child with her back to the US. After knocking on several doors, she was left with the gruesome choice of having to leave the IVF child behind in India. Her cries of plea and help fell on deaf ears and in a miraculous moment scripted in some movie, she got a call at the airport when she was getting ready to leave India without the child. She was informed that the necessary paperwork will be done so that she can take the IVF child WITH her. The CHILD had been given a LEGAL identity. She at least CAME to India when the IVF child was born and was able to do something for the innocent child.

Unique Situations Call For UNIQUE Solutions

If Assistive Reproductive Technology (ART) is war against infertility or dysfertility, then are some IVF children sometimes its INNOCENT VICTIMS? If there are international laws for child adoption and child abduction, why are there NO international laws for IVF/Surrogacy children? Are IVF children LESS of a child? There are several different IVF scenarios where legal parentage can be assigned, why has each situation NOT been analyzed and appropriate laws been passed? Laws provide consistency, predictability, and above all RELIEF for VICTIMS. This state of lawlessness in international IVF/surrogacy situations causes the innocent, voiceless IVF children to be in LEGAL LIMBO. If a cat or dog is abandoned illegally, its a CRIME, its a CRIME against the welfare of the animal, if a natural born child is abandoned illegally, its a CRIME, but if an IVF child is abandoned, there is NO CRIME? To be very clear, the CRIMES are multiple in nature – first the abandoned IVF child, second who makes the payment to the commercial surrogate for delivering an IVF child, and other VICTIMS for later discussion. If a commissioning parent decides to abandon an IVF pregnancy, is that the surrogate’s or IVF child’s fault? What are their RIGHTS? Creating stateless children is not uncommon. As a point of reference, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, ethnic genocide in Rwanda, Kosovo, and so on created millions of stateless children. Did those children get rights?

Cats and dogs have better “human rights” than some IVF children. Is there something wrong with this situation? I am not equating my IVF children or anyone else’s to cats and dogs but stating the UNIQUE situations that some IVF children are inadvertently placed in. As an IVF parent it breaks my heart to say this but the truth needs to be said so that the powers to be can bring CHANGE and pass laws or provide LEGAL recourse and RELIEF to VICTIMS. We need NEW laws to reflect these NEW realities.