It is always unfortunate when innocent victims are taken advantage of, and even more so, when the people taking advantage of them could just as easily be helping them. Such is the case of Theresa Erickson, previous owner of Conceptual Options and an attorney specializing in reproductive law, who has pleaded guilty to baby selling in a ring also involving attorney Hilary Neiman of Maryland. We are so saddened by the actions of those in power who have taken advantage of Intended Parents, surrogates and the unfortunate babies themselves. Ms. Erickson and her co-conspirators sold babies of Surrogates to Intended Parents for sums of at least $100,000, after sending the surrogates overseas to be impregnated with donor eggs and donor sperm. It is sad to see what was assumed to be a prestigious agency owner fall so hard, and we hope this leads to greater regulation and oversight of Surrogacy Agencies in general. Our sympathies lie with the Intended Parents and Surrogates who were taken advantage of not only emotionally by preying on their emotions and desire for a baby at any cost, but also were defrauded financially, as we all know a successful surrogacy with a reputable agency can be had for $65,000-$95,000, and not at the exorbitant sums that Ms. Erickson and Hilary Neiman were charging while breaking the law. We are sure there will be more to come from this sad story, and we hope that Intended Parents are not turned off from Surrogacy as a whole, as there are still reputable Agencies such as Simple Surrogacy to help Intended Parents and Surrogates at reasonable, legal costs.

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Attorney admits guilt in baby-selling ring

An internationally known Poway attorney who specialized in reproductive law pleaded guilty Tuesday to a key role in what federal authorities said was a baby-selling ring.

Theresa Erickson, 43, admitted that she and her co-conspirators used women to create an inventory of unborn babies that they would sell for over $100,000 each, according to the San Diego offices of the U.S. attorney.

Federal prosecutors said three women —- Erickson, along with Hilary Neiman, an attorney from Maryland, and Carla Chambers, a surrogate mother —- admitted guilt in the scheme. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Merriman said that Erickson agreed to pay restitution of $120,000 —- $10,000 each to 12 couples victimized in the scheme, which started as far back as 2005.

The parents in the scheme did receive children, however, they are considered victims and “we are certainly not taking steps” that would see the parents lose custody of the children, Merriman said.

Under the conspiracy, women would go to overseas clinics and have embryos implanted, becoming pregnant.

Once the pregnancy entered the second trimester, Erickson and co-conspirators would solicit prospective parents willing to pay the high fees to buy the parental rights for an unborn baby, the charges state.

The timing of when a deal is struck matters. Before conception, a woman can agree to become pregnant for profit, under California law. After conception, however, the woman cannot profit from being pregnant and supplying a child to prospective parents. The first instance is considered surrogacy, the second instance is adoption.

Under the baby-selling scheme, prospective parents were duped into believing that the pregnancies were the result of legitimate surrogacy agreements gone awry because the first set of intended parents backed out, federal prosecutors alleged. The replacement parents paid fees of more than $100,000 to take over what they believed were legitimate surrogacy agreements.

Prosecutors said the baby-selling scheme created “a steady flow of newborns with the promise that they (the pregnant women) would be paid between $38,000 to $45,000 for each successful pregnancy that resulted in a birth,” according to charges the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego filed against Erickson on Tuesday, the same day she pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Federal prosecutors say Erickson admitted that she faked surrogacy agreements to look like they were struck prior to conception of the baby, and then filed those false documents in court.

What’s more, the scheme enabled the pregnant women to get state insurance they were not otherwise eligible to receive, prosecutors said.

On a cached version of her website — which has since been removed —- Erickson was described as “one of the few attorneys in the United States who specializes exclusively in the area of Family Formation Law.”

The site stated that Erickson herself long ago became an egg donor for several couples seeking children.

Erickson is slated to be sentenced Oct. 28. She faces up to five years in custody.

The instance of multiples in surrogacy is growing and seems more common every year. The reasons behind the increase of surrogate multiples are many, but here we’ll examine a few of the more common reasons that Surrogate pregnancies result in multiple births.

Many Gestational Surrogates will end up carrying twins and even triplets, especially those who complete more than one surrogacy journey.

There are four main reasons for the high probability of a surrogate pregnancy with multiples and those include:
Health of surrogate
Donor Eggs (if used)
Number of Embryos Transferred
Advances in IVF technology

Surrogate’s Health
Most Surrogate Mothers are first and foremost chosen because their bodies are at a peak of reproductive fertility. In choosing their Surrogate, Intended Parents, whether they are a traditional couple where the Intended Mother is unable to carry or a same sex couple, choose primarily for health of the Gestational Surrogate. The Gestational Carrier will have proven her fertility by successfully giving birth to at least one child of her own, and in becoming a Surrogate will have passed extensive testing to ensure that her body is capable of handling the IVF treatment and the ensuing pregnancy.
To prepare the Surrogate, the IVF physician will give her fertility drugs and treatments designed to assist her in conceiving, which in and of itself can increase the incidence of fetuses conceived.

Donor Eggs
In cases where the Intended Mother is not fertile, or the couple is a same sex couple, Donor eggs would be used. Egg Donors are very young and at their fertility peak. The typical donor cycle will yield between 10-30 excellent quality ovum.

Egg Donors complete extensive health questionnaires, complete genetic profiles and have genetic testing done, and disclose their entire medical and genetic history. Being so thoroughly screened, donors’ eggs are the best possible quality and therefore will be at an optimum for fertility.

Embryos Transferred
Of course, the health of the embryos themselves is only part of the equation. The other part is the medical expertise and process of the IVF itself.

IVF is an expensive process, and as such, Intended Parents and their physicians will strive for the best possible outcome from a transfer to achieve a pregnancy.

Intended Parents do not want to pay for an unsuccessful transfer, so the transfer of more than one embryo, to increase the likelihood of implantation, is common.

The result, when the Surrogate is healthy, the Egg Donor is young and at the peak of her fertility, and there are multiple embryos transferred, is often a multiple pregnancy. That can mean twins, or triplets, or in some cases, more.

Intended Parents will find it easy to get caught up in the excitement of the transfer and the possibility of additional children all at once, and the recommendations of the IVF physician (who will want to maintain a high success rating) and decide to transfer additional embryos. It is important to consider that every embryo transferred can result in a child, or can even split and produce identical twins.

So if you transfer two embryos, that could result in twins, or if they both split, quads. Three, and the result could be triplets, or more. Most Gestational Surrogacy agreements will have stipulations in place where the Intended Parents and Gestational Surrogate have pre-agreed to have many embroys will be transferred and in what situations they will reduce the number of fetuses. The decision to reduce can be avoided with a careful consideration of how many embryos to transfer in the first place.

Advances in IVF technology

The final consideration in achieving a multiple pregnancy is the advancement of IVF technology. Today in the United States, one out of every 100 babies born is from IVF. In 2006, the most recent year for which we have statistics, more than 120,000 IVF cycles were performed in the USA which is twice as many as a decade earlier. We can only guess that the statistics will continue to improve as the medical science continues to advance. Improvements have been made in all the stages of treatment, commencing from the initial stage of induction of ovulation to the final step of transfer. All of these medical advances will contribute to better embryo quality and better transfer procedures, all of which contributes to higher success rates in transfers.

Even in all of these situations, twins and multiples are not guaranteed, nor is there a guarantee that any embryos transferred will survive to implant and become a fetus, which is why more than one-two  embryos is sometimes transferred.

But when the embryos do survive, a Surrogate and her Intended Parent(s) will be the lucky recipients of not just the family they have always dreamed of, but of an instant larger family and another wonderful bundle of joy to welcome into the world!

It can be a big decision to move forward with an egg donation or surrogacy arrangement with a third party. While it is usually a wonderful experience, it can also be an emotional process that takes a great deal of commitment from everyone involved

With that in mind, the last thing you need upon going through this process is to be stuck in a legal battle regarding parental rights and expectations. That’s why, even when it’s not a requirement, it is crucially important for all parties involved to sign a legal agreement beforehand.

Ever since egg donation and surrogacy became an option for couples and individuals who would otherwise not be able to have children, there have been some very unique legal implications that have come up. These cases have challenged what it means to be a donor and a recipient, as well as muddied the waters when it comes to the methodologies used to determine parentage.

Cases involving these issues are usually ugly and bitter, and what usually makes all the difference is if there was an agreement signed beforehand. After all, a valid legal contract can be, for the most part, easily dissected by the courts. Without a contract, however, both parties leave themselves open to a lengthy and expensive legal process if or when there is a disagreement.

With all the confusion, one might think that well-established sperm donation laws and legal precedents would translate naturally into the realm of egg donation, allowing for more clarity. However, the two are not one in the same, as egg donation involves a much more involved medical process that includes the retrieval and implementation of eggs.

So how can all parties in an egg donation or surrogacy relationship ensure that they’re protected? The best method is to sign a valid legal agreement beforehand, which should outline in detail each party’s intentions, rights and obligations. These contracts are low-cost in terms of legal fees, but will pay off if any legal issues come up later on in the process.

Due to the spotty and unclear laws currently governing egg donation and surrogacy, courts will continue to rely on prior agreements to determine cases in this area. To be safe, make sure you come to an official agreement before moving forward.

Simple Surrogacy wishes all of the Mothers, expectant Mothers and Surrogates a very Happy Mothers Day!

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