The Cassidy Law Firm Blog

When the unanimous decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court in the Baby M case was published, the Court held that surrogacy contracts were in violation of every statute and public policy of our state that dealt with the rights of mothers, the rights of children, the issues dealing with adoption and termination of a mother’s rights.

At the end of that opinion, our Supreme Court observed that the case highlights many of the problems and evils of surrogacy – including the potential exploitation of women – but that the people and the culture must determine if our policies and laws, after careful consideration, should be changed subject to constitutional constraints.

As a result of that decision, the Governor and the Legislature asked the New Jersey Bioethics Commission to study the issue of whether laws should be changed to create an enabling statute.

Dear President Sweeney and Speaker Oliver:

The recent news that S1599 and A2646 have swiftly passed out of committee has caused great alarm in New Jersey and nationally among leaders, authors, physicians and organizations who are concerned about the rights of women, as well as the rights of children. We write with a sense of urgency to ask that neither bill be posted for a floor vote at this time.

S1599 and A2646 are enabling statutes that broadly sweep away every policy and statute that provides protection of the rights of mothers and children that have been in place for many scores of decades in our state. We fear it is being done without proper public discussion and understanding of the harms gestational surrogacy poses for women and how, once legalized, it will dramatically alter our culture.

On February 9, 2012, the Federal Government and 49 States reached a settlement agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers. The settlement addresses mortgage servicing, foreclosure, and bankruptcy abuse. The settlement covers home owners and mortgages serviced by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Ally Financial Inc./GMAC, and Wells Fargo & Company. If you have a mortgage serviced by any of these banks, or if you lost your home to foreclosure between January 2008 and December 2011, either you or your attorney should contact your bank to see if you are eligible for relief.

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Harold Cassidy, considered one of the leading legal experts on surrogacy law in the United States and lead counsel for the surrogate mother in the 'Baby M' case, gave his commentary on The Matter of the Parentage of a Child by T.J.S. and A.L.S., in an article which appeared in the March 12, 2012 edition of The New Jersey Law Journal. Oral argument in this matter was heard by the New Jersey Supreme Court on March 1, 2012. In his published commentary, Mr. Cassidy exposed the blaring weakness of the case; the class of women with the greatest rights and fundamental interests at risk, the Birth Mothers, had no legal representation.