An Invitation to Further Chaos : A Sacramento bill on surrogacy would open door to more problems

The Legislature is engaged in a brave new effort to make California the first state to regulate surrogate parenting, which employs modern reproductive technology to realize the dreams of childless couples. Several prominent custody disputes in Orange County and elsewhere already have made it clear that the promise of science can be fraught with pitfalls.

The Alternative Reproduction Act, SB 937, introduced by state Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), is an ambitious foray into this complex world. But though the proposed legislation wrestles successfully with many of the mind-boggling fine points of surrogacy arrangements, it has one big problem area. If that’s not fixed, this legislation will be nothing more than an unintended invitation to further disputes.

The Assembly is now considering various amendments, and has been sorting out the objections of a diverse group of opponents who find one fault or another with the bill. Where the bill really begins to get into trouble is in its creation of separate classes of surrogates--those who have a genetic link with the baby and those who are “womb mothers,” women who carry a donated ovum to term.

The legislation holds that the latter group should be excluded from any custodial claim on a child. But because it puts a premium on genetic ties in the determination of parenthood, the bill leaves open the door to claims of custody that might arise from genetic-link surrogates.

For the state to elevate any surrogate to such a potentially powerful standing as a parent would invite a legal quagmire. And make no mistake, the couple seeking to have the child must have first claim of parenthood. Anything else would be bad public policy. To those concerned about emotional attachment developing in a birth mother, the answer is simple: Nobody should agree lightly to be a surrogate.

Merely hoping that a surrogate won’t make a claim down the road would be naive. To properly regulate what reproductive science now makes possible, clear and decisive guidelines are necessary to remove any element of doubt.