PRESS RELEASE: January 10, 2011

On January 5, 2011, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued an historical decision regarding parental rights in matters involving surrogacy and gestational agreements.

Attorney Victoria Ferrara of the Law Firm of Victoria T. Ferrara, PC, Fairfield, Connecticut represented the Intended Parents, Anthony Raftopol and Scott Hargon throughout the litigation and the appeal. The lower court in Connecticut decided that a pre-birth court order naming the non-genetic parent, Scott Hargon, as the legal parent of the children to be born to their gestational carrier, Karma Ramey, was appropriate. The State of Connecticut appealed. The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Attorney Ferrara argued the appeal for Raftopol and Hargon. Amicus briefs were filed by GLAD, LAMBDA and the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys among others.

The Court concluded that an Intended Parent to a Gestational Carrier Agreement who has no genetic relationship to the baby may establish his or her legal parental rights by way of a Pre-Birth Court Order. There is no longer a need in Connecticut for the non-genetic parent to go through adoption proceedings. Essentially, the Court created a new way to establish parental rights. While the court stated that there were already three methods of establishing parental rights: 1) giving birth to your own child; 2) adoption; and 3) the birth of a parent's genetic child via a gestational carrier or by way of the artificial insemination statutes, now the Court established a fourth manner to establish legal parental rights: An Intended Parent to a valid gestational agreement who is NOT genetically related to the child to be born, may establish legal parental rights by way of a pre-birth court order issued by the Superior Court of Connecticut.

This is a major and most favorable decision for Intended Parents who are using egg donors or sperm donors in their gestational carrier arrangements. And of course for gay male couples since obviously one of the Intended Parents will not be genetically related to the baby or babies.