97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5622

 

Introduced 2/15/2012, by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Assisted Reproduction and Egg Donation Act in connection with methods of causing pregnancy through means other than by sexual intercourse. Contains provisions concerning rights of parentage in connection with assisted reproduction, eligibility for egg donation, requirements for egg donation contracts, the effect of dissolution of a marriage or civil union of the intended parents or their withdrawal of consent to assisted reproduction, duties of child support, the effects of noncompliance with the Act or a breach of an egg donation contract by the egg donor, damages, irrevocability of an egg donation, rulemaking by the Department of Public Health, and severability.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning assisted reproduction.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Assisted Reproduction and Egg Donation Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Assisted reproduction" means a method of causing
8pregnancy through means other than by sexual intercourse. In
9the foregoing context, the term includes, but is not limited
10to:
11        (1) intrauterine insemination;
12        (2) donation of eggs;
13        (3) donation of embryos; and
14        (4) in-vitro fertilization and transfer of embryos.
15    "Child" means any child or children born from embryos
16formed using an egg donor's egg.
17    "Compensation" means payment of any valuable consideration
18for services in excess of reasonable medical and ancillary
19costs.
20    "Egg donation" means the process by which a woman attempts
21to contribute her egg for the purpose of in-vitro fertilization
22or implantation in another whereby the egg donor retains no
23parental rights, nor are parental obligations presumed.

 

 

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1    "Egg donor" means a woman who contributes an egg or eggs
2for the purpose of in-vitro fertilization or implantation in
3another.
4    "Gamete" means either a sperm or an egg.
5    "Health care provider" means a person who is duly licensed
6to provide health care services, including all medical,
7psychological, or counseling professionals.
8    "Intended parent" means a person who either:
9        (1) enters into a contract with an egg donor, a sperm
10    donor, or a gestational surrogate pursuant to which he or
11    she will be the legal parent of the resulting child; in the
12    case of a married couple or a couple bound by civil union,
13    any reference to an intended parent includes both parents
14    for all purposes of this Act; the term includes the
15    intended mother, the intended father, or 2 intended
16    parents; or
17        (2) is the recipient of intrauterine insemination or
18    in-vitro fertilization and transfer of a pre-embryo, and
19    intends to be the legal parent of the resulting child.
20    "In-vitro fertilization" means all medical and laboratory
21procedures that are necessary to effectuate the extracorporeal
22fertilization of egg and sperm.
23    "Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in
24all its branches in Illinois.
25    "Pre-embryo" means a fertilized egg prior to 14 days of
26development.

 

 

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1    "Pre-embryo transfer" means all medical and laboratory
2procedures that are necessary to effectuate the transfer of a
3pre-embryo into the uterine cavity.
 
4    Section 10. Rights of parentage.
5    (a) Except as provided in this Act or in the Gestational
6Surrogacy Act, the woman who gives birth to a child is presumed
7to be the mother of that child for purposes of Illinois law.
8    (b) In the case of an egg donation satisfying the
9requirements set forth in this Act:
10        (1) If, under the supervision of a physician, the
11    intended parent or parents consent to assisted
12    reproduction with sperm donated by a man other than the
13    intended father, the intended father is treated in law as
14    if he were the natural father of the resulting child and
15    the child shall be considered the legal child of the
16    intended parent or parents for purposes of Illinois law
17    immediately upon the birth of the child.
18        (2) If, under the supervision of a physician, the
19    intended parent or parents consent to assisted
20    reproduction with one or more eggs donated by a woman other
21    than the intended mother and the intended mother does not
22    intend to be a gestational surrogate, the intended mother
23    is treated in law as if she were the natural mother of the
24    resulting child and the child shall be considered the
25    legitimate child of the intended parent or parents for

 

 

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1    purposes of Illinois law immediately upon the birth of the
2    child.
3        (3) Neither the donor nor the donor's spouse or civil
4    union partner, if any, is a parent of the child conceived
5    by means of assisted reproduction satisfying the
6    requirements of this Act for purposes of Illinois law.
7        (4) A written contract meeting the requirements of
8    Section 20 and defining the rights and obligations of the
9    intended parent or parents and the donor must be signed by
10    all parties.
11    (c) The parties to an egg donation arrangement shall assume
12the rights and obligations under subsections (a) and (b) of
13this Section if the eligibility requirements set forth in
14Section 15 are met.
15    (d) Failure of any party to sign a consent required under
16this Act does not preclude a finding that the individual is a
17parent of the resulting child.
 
18    Section 15. Eligibility for egg donation.
19    (a) An egg donor shall be deemed to have satisfied the
20requirements of this Act if the following requirements are met
21prior to the commencement of medical procedures in furtherance
22of the egg donation other than medical or mental health
23evaluations necessary to determine eligibility as contemplated
24in this Act:
25        (1) She is at least 21 years of age.

 

 

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1        (2) She has completed a medical evaluation and received
2    clearance as an appropriate participant from a qualified
3    physician.
4        (3) She has completed a mental health consultation and
5    is deemed an appropriate participant from a qualified
6    health care provider.
7        (4) She has undergone a legal consultation with
8    independent legal counsel regarding the terms of the egg
9    donation contract and the potential legal consequences of
10    the egg donation arrangement.
11    (b) An intended parent or parents shall be deemed to have
12satisfied the requirements of this Act if the following
13requirements are met prior to the commencement of medical
14procedures in furtherance of the egg donation other than
15medical or mental health consultations necessary to determine
16eligibility as contemplated in this Act:
17        (1) The intended parent or parents are at least 21
18    years of age.
19        (2) The intended parent or parents have completed a
20    medical evaluation and received clearance as an
21    appropriate participant from a qualified physician.
22        (3) The intended parent or parents have completed a
23    mental health consultation with a qualified health care
24    provider regarding the risks and benefits of participating
25    in an egg donation arrangement.
26        (4) The intended parent or parents have completed a

 

 

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1    legal consultation with independent legal counsel
2    regarding the terms of the egg donation contract and the
3    potential legal consequences of the egg donation
4    arrangement.
 
5    Section 20. Requirements for an egg donation contract.
6    (a) An egg donation contract shall be presumed enforceable
7for purposes of Illinois law only if it meets the contractual
8requirements set forth in subsection (b) of this Section and it
9contains at a minimum each of the terms set forth in subsection
10(b) of this Section.
11    (b) An egg donation contract shall meet the following
12requirements:
13        (1) It shall be in writing.
14        (2) It shall be executed prior to the commencement of
15    any medical procedure in furtherance of the egg donation
16    other than medical or mental health evaluations or
17    consultations necessary to determine eligibility of the
18    parties pursuant to Section 15:
19            (A) By a donor meeting the eligibility
20        requirements of Section 15.
21            (B) By the intended parent or parents meeting the
22        eligibility requirements of Section 15. If the
23        intended parents intend to jointly parent any child
24        resulting from the egg donation, they both must sign
25        the egg donation contract regardless of their marital

 

 

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1        or civil union status.
2            (C) Both the donor and the intended parent or
3        parents shall have been represented by separate legal
4        counsel in all matters concerning the egg donation and
5        the egg donation contract.
6        (3) An egg donation contract shall provide for:
7            (A) The specific terms of agreement regarding the
8        following items:
9                (i) The donor's participation in medical
10            testing and procedures that the physician
11            recommends or the intended parent or parents may
12            request.
13                (ii) The donor's abstention from activities
14            that the intended parent or parents or physician
15            reasonably believes may cause harm to a fetus and
16            the future health of the child through the date of
17            the retrieval procedure.
18                (iii) The terms of payment of reasonable
19            compensation, if any.
20                (iv) The payment of the medical, legal, or
21            other professional expenses related to the egg
22            donation and the egg donation contract.
23                (v) The acknowledgment of the donor and the
24            intended parent or parents that he or she received
25            information about the legal, financial (including
26            information regarding the availability of health

 

 

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1            insurance related to complications associated with
2            egg donation procedures), and contractual rights,
3            expectations, penalties, and obligations of the
4            egg donation agreement.
5            (B) The express written agreement of the donor:
6                (i) To follow the medical instructions
7            provided by the treating physician.
8                (ii) For relinquishment of any claim to a child
9            born as a result of the egg donation arrangement.
10                (iii) For relinquishment of any claim to any
11            embryo formed pursuant to the egg donation,
12            subject to limitations regarding donation of
13            embryos to any other individual for reproductive
14            use or other disposition restrictions as set forth
15            in the contract and agreed upon by all parties.
16            (C) If the donor is married or bound by civil
17        union:
18                (i) The donor's husband or partner shall not be
19            a parent of the child.
20                (ii) The donor's husband or partner shall not
21            have any claim to any child or embryo resulting
22            from the egg donation arrangement.
23                (iii) The donor's husband or partner shall not
24            have standing to bring any claim for damages
25            against the intended parent or parents from any
26            liability resulting from his or her wife's or

 

 

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1            partner's participation in an egg donation
2            arrangement meeting the requirements of this Act.
3            (D) The express written agreement of the intended
4        parent or parents to:
5                (a) Accept all parental obligations for any
6            child born as a result of the egg donation.
7                (b) Assume sole responsibility for the duty to
8            support the child or children.
9                (c) Assume responsibility for the storage and
10            subsequent disposition of embryos formed and
11            cryopreserved as a result of the egg donation,
12            subject to limitations regarding donation of
13            embryos to any other individual for reproductive
14            use or other disposition restrictions as set forth
15            in the contract and agreed upon by all parties.
16    (c) A donor may condition donation on a reasonable
17assurance of anonymity so long as non-identifying health
18information is provided to the intended parent or parents.
19    (d) A donor who has authorized the limited release of
20identifying health or other information related to her health
21history may not revoke that permission once the retrieval
22procedure has occurred and the donor's egg or eggs have been
23combined with sperm.
24    (e) If any of the requirements of this Section are not met,
25the intended parent or parents shall be presumed to be the
26legal parents of the child unless a court of competent

 

 

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1jurisdiction determines otherwise based on evidence of the
2parties' intent.
 
3    Section 25. Effect of dissolution of marriage or civil
4union of intended parents or withdrawal of consent.
5    (a) If a marriage or civil union is dissolved by court
6order before a pre-embryo or embryo is transferred to a
7recipient for the purpose of reproduction, the former spouse or
8partner is not a parent of the resulting child unless the
9former spouse or partner consented in writing that assisted
10reproduction may occur after a divorce or dissolution and the
11former spouse or partner consents to be a legal parent of the
12child.
13    (b) The consent of a woman or a man to assisted
14reproduction may be withdrawn by that individual in writing at
15any time before a pre-embryo or embryo is transferred for the
16purpose of reproduction. An individual who withdraws consent
17under this Section prior to a transfer is not a parent of the
18resulting child.
19    (c) If the parties are legally separated or a divorce
20action or a dissolution action is pending or granted, that
21shall be deemed to be a withdrawal of consent and any directive
22executed prior to the separation of filing shall not be
23honored.
 
24    Section 30. Duty to support.

 

 

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1    (a) Any person who is considered to be the parent of a
2child pursuant to this Act is obligated to support the child.
3    (b) The breach of the egg donation contract by the intended
4parent or parents does not relieve the intended parent or
5parents of the support obligations imposed by this Act.
6    (c) An egg donor may be liable for child support only if
7she fails to enter into a legal agreement with the intended
8parent or parents in which the intended parent or parents agree
9to assume all rights and responsibilities for any resulting
10child, and the egg donor relinquishes her rights to any
11gametes, resulting embryos, or children.
 
12    Section 35. Noncompliance. Noncompliance by the donor or
13the intended parent or parents occurs when that party breaches
14a provision of the egg donation contract.
 
15    Section 40. Effect of noncompliance.
16    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, in the event
17of noncompliance with the requirements of this Act, a court of
18competent jurisdiction shall determine the respective rights
19and obligations of the parties.
20    (b) There shall be no specific performance remedy available
21for a breach by the donor of an egg donation contract term that
22requires her to donate her eggs to another person if the breach
23occurs prior to the time the donor's egg or eggs have been
24fertilized with sperm.
 

 

 

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1    Section 45. Damages. In the event of noncompliance:
2    (a) Except as expressly provided in the egg donation
3contract, the intended parent or parents are entitled to all
4remedies available at law or in equity.
5    (b) Except as expressly provided in the egg donation
6contract, the donor is entitled to all remedies available at
7law or in equity.
 
8    Section 50. Irrevocability. No action to invalidate an egg
9donation meeting the requirements of this Act shall be
10commenced at any time after the point at which the contract
11meeting the requirements of this Act deems the egg donation
12irrevocable. No challenge to the rights of parentage
13established pursuant to this Act and the Illinois Parentage Act
14of 1984 shall be commenced from the moment of birth of the
15child.
 
16    Section 55. Rulemaking. The Department of Public Health may
17adopt rules pertaining to the required medical and mental
18health evaluations for the parties. Until the Department of
19Public Health adopts rules, medical and mental health
20evaluations and procedures shall be conducted in accordance
21with the recommended guidelines published by the American
22Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American College of
23Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The rules may adopt these

 

 

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1guidelines or others by reference.
 
2    Section 60. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
3severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.