If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you know that I am very actively reading what is being written about surrogacy, egg donation, sperm donation, embryo donation and IVF in Canada and around the world, and I love to share this information with others who are interested in these topics, too.  Once in a while, I come across something truly exceptional about third party reproduction in Canada that warrants more than a facebook or twitter post.  Tonight I came across a blog that is a must read for anyone who is contemplating surrogacy in Canada (either as a gestational carrier or an intended parent). 

The blog, called A Tale of Two Mothers - Journey through Canadian Surrogacy, is written from both the perspective of the gestational carrier, and the perspective of the intended mother.  It highlights some of the emotional ups and downs and concerns from both points of view.  This blog offers us a rare glimpse into these two women's thoughts, emotions, struggles and relationships. How privileged we are to be offered this insight! 

Hello loyal readers,

You may have noticed it has been kind of quiet around here for the past number of months.  I was on parental leave and am just getting back into the swing of the "extras", including this blog.

The reason I was truly able to take parental leave was because my partner, Anatoly Dvorkin, stepped in and worked with my clients in my absence.  He did a fantastic job and discovered that he was both fascinated by the issues that develop in a fertility law practice and enjoyed the warm and personal relationships that develop in this area of law, too.  So, although I am back and handling the majority of the fertility law files myself, Anatoly is going to stay on too and be available to fertility clients looking to work with him, in addition to continuing with his commercial litigation, business formation and technology practice. We think it is a great opportunity as Anatoly brings a different perspective to the area. You can read about Anatoly on the Fertility Law Canada website, or check out more detailed information about this general practice on the D2Law website.  We look forward to helping you build families!

For me, PRIDE is a time of hope and celebration, and I think it is apropos that we recognize just how far we have come as a society in helping all people who want children build their families in various ways, including through assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs).

I often mention that, in my opinion, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act starts out with a bang that is truly something to be proud of (unfortunately it  
fizzles out from there).  Specifically, the Act states that,

s. 2      The Parliament
of Canada recognizes and declares that…

 (e) persons who seek to undergo assisted
reproduction procedures must not be discriminated against, including on the basis of their sexual orientation or marital status.

While ARTs are often lauded for their success in helping people with infertility, they are  just as useful, necessary and laudable for members of the LGBT community who do
not suffer from infertility.  Gay men in particular benefit from accessible ARTs with an emphasis on the T for
technology; donor insemination has long been a self-help remedy, but there is no corresponding self-help remedy for gestational surrogacy.  
   
Although there is much to celebrate (and there
really is – so many beautiful families would not have been possible without ARTS), it’s imperative that we learn how to make section 2(e) of the AHRA more than just an ideal but a reality.  To that end, I want to share with you the hands-down best presentation regarding ARTs that I have been to all year, which hopefully will obain the funding to be presented repeatedly throughout Ontario:

Reframing Assisted Human Reproduction: 

A forum theatre workshop about LGBTQ people’s
experiences with AHR services

The workshop is based on interviews conducted with 66 LGBTQ people across Ontario who have used, considered using, and/or avoided using AHR to have genetically related children.  Some of the worst experiences of
the interviewees are portrayed for the audience (the performance is candid that it is reflective of the worst-case scenarios and doesn’t reflect any of the positive experiences of the LGBTQ community accessing ART services in
Ontario).  I have to admit, I had my doubts about a performanced based workshop, but it was incredibly effective.  As far as we have come with people of the LGBTQ community having access to ARTs, the experiences as performed in the workshop were shocking, eye-opening and traumatic.  From the things that we can easily remedy to be more sensitive, such as offering genderless bathrooms, to the way consent forms are drafted making
assumptions as to gender and sexuality, this presentation highlighted practical ways in which we can make ART services truly accessible to the LGBTQ community.  

For more information, please contact Lesley Tarasoff

 Phone:
416-535-8501 x 7386

Email:
Lesley_Tarasoff@camh.net 

or see http://www.lgbtqhealth.ca/

A quick note about my earlier post regarding the legality of paying for imported banked frozen ova into Canada (read it here):
1. I'm proud to announce that a version of the post was published in the Huffington Post here, and
2. I heard through the grapevine that Health Canada confirmed that purchasing banked eggs and importing them into Canada is, in fact legal.  I am hoping to obain confirmation of that in writing shortly!