Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Verdict
Publication Date
4-29-2014
Abstract
A man petitioned to adopt the biological twins of his husband, conceived with a donor egg and gestated by a woman in Mumbai, India. Although New York law permits children to have two legal fathers and permits a spouse to adopt stepchildren with the biological parent’s consent, a question was nonetheless raised about the validity of this particular adoption: Does New York’s statutory ban on surrogacy prevent a court from using adoption to give effect indirectly to the contractually intended arrangement? A family court judge said no.
In the Matter of J.J.H.C., the judge allowed the co-parent adoption to proceed, correctly deeming the surrogacy agreement that led to the children’s birth legally irrelevant. The anti-surrogacy law is a leftover relic of an earlier time that should be read narrowly until the legislature has the good sense to repeal it.
Recommended Citation
Joanna L. Grossman,
Adoption by Gay Couple Not Blocked by Illegal Surrogacy Agreement Verdict
(2014)
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/faculty_scholarship/348