Gestational Carrier
Gestational carrier therapy involves the use of a third-party woman’s uterus (the “carrier”) to carry a child for a couple who are the biological parents of the pregnancy (the “intended parents”). The indications for this unique treatment include medical conditions of the female intended parent that would preclude her from safely completing a pregnancy. Other indications include the physical absence of a uterus or a uterus that is not thought to be competent for pregnancy. Gestational carrier therapy involves in vitro fertilization with the eggs and sperm from the intended parents, with subsequent transfer of a resulting embryo to the gestational carrier’s uterus. Ultimately, legal documents completed prior to the initiation of treatment result in the assignment of parental rights to the intended parents for their genetic offspring at the birth of their child.