a74
Subj : Re: Nobody's ... script editor
To   : alt.tv.er
From : Karen E
Date : Sat Oct 01 2005 02:14:12

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.er

kincaid wrote:
> npardue@indiana.edu wrote:
> 
>> MauiJNP wrote:
>>
>> So I did a quick web search, and turned up at least one surrogacy
>> contract online.
>>
>> http://www.surromomsonline.com/articles/index.htm
>>
>> It doesn't specifically address the requirement to have a c-section, in
>> so many words, but DOES say  that the surrogate "agrees to consent to
>> any medical tests or procedures deemed necessary or advisible by her
>> obstetrician or midwife." (And also that she agrees to abstain from
>> potentially hazardous activies like smoking, drinking alcohol, exposure
>> to toxins, etc.) AND ... that she agrees to 'deliver to the intended
>> parents a healthy child, to the fullest extent that she is capable of.'
>>  (I dont' think a 25% risk of 'major complications' fits that
>> agreement.)
>>
>> It further says that the intended parents are required to accept the
>> child, regardless of gender or health, but if there are birth
>> defects/injuries that can be determined to be the direct result of the
>> surrogate's actions (as is clearly the case here) that she is required
>> to pay back all the money they gave her.
>>
> IOW, all that Claire has to do is pay the bio-parents back their money, 
> which she will probably do w/o too much fuss.
> 
> It's been a few years since I've researched surrogacy contracts, but my 
> gut reaction is that consent to medical treatment remains freely 
> revocable. If you sign a paper consenting to treatment, you can still 
> refuse when the time comes, so if you have a contract promising to 
> agree, it doesn't really bind you. You might have to pay damages for a 
> breach, but it sounds like the contract itself provides a measure of 
> damages -- refund of the surrogate's fee -- which would control.

I think such contracts generally include medical expenses as well as 
whatever fee is agreed upon. That means that the surrogate would also 
have to return the full cost of her care throughout the pregnancy, no 
small amount, and possibly the delivery cost as well - a particularly 
pricey item if there are any difficulties during L&D and specialists 
must be called in. The neonatal team that was brought in during my 
second delivery added a couple thou to the cost (ten years ago) and that 
was just because of meconium in the amniotic fluid. I wonder as well 
whether the bio-parents could sue for medical expenses for the child 
since it was the surrogate's actions that resulted in the injuries.


Karen E.

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