The authoritative legal resource for potential parents, complete with PDF forms to use "A concise, thorough, and detailed guide to adoption law and practice that is as equally useful to the novice as it is to the seasoned professional."--Jodi Sue Rutstein, M.S.W., Esq. More than 5,000 public and private adoptions were finalized in Florida during 2009. Based on recent trends, this number is expected to increase annually, despite the sometimes confusing legal procedures that often impede successful completion of the adoption process for families. Melissa Tartaglia, whose legal practice focuses on adoption and surrogacy, has been giving seminars on the adoption and surrogacy process for years. In this easy-to-use sourcebook, she presents the pros and cons of the wide range of adoption choices available in Florida, along with invaluable step-by-step tips on completing appropriate legal paperwork. Specific real-world examples and scenarios are explored to help explain the procedures and how best to approach potential pitfalls. Suitable for laypersons considering adoption and lawyers who need a quick, single-source reference, Adoption and Surrogacy in Florida is the most complete and accessible guide to navigating the state's sometimes unintuitive adoption and surrogacy legal requirements. It encompasses adoption and surrogacy processes from beginning to end: finding a child or gestational surrogate; drafting an enforceable contract; obtaining a home-study; locating the right physicians; satisfying legal requirements; and bringing an action for adoption or determination of parental status. Providing information on dozens of invaluable resources, an explanation of applicable statutes and procedures in layman's terms, checklists, a CD containing downloadable legal forms, and detailed instructions, Adoption and Surrogacy in Florida is a must-own volume for any Floridians who want to start or expand their families through adoption or surrogacy--in some cases without engaging an agency or attorney. Attorney Melissa A. Tartaglia is the president of Tartaglia Law Group, a Florida firm that focuses on adoption, surrogacy, temporary guardianship, dependency, and custody issues.

Thanks to recent progress in biotechnology, surrogacy, transplantation of organs and tissues, blood products or stem-cell and gamete banks are now widely used throughout the world. These techniques improve the health and well-being of some human beings using products or functions that come from the body of others. Growth in demand and absence of an appropriate international legal framework have led to the development of a lucrative global trade in which victims are often people living in insecure conditions who have no other ways to survive than to rent or sell part of their body. This growing market, in which parts of the human body are bought and sold with little respect for the human person, displays a kind of dehumanization that looks like a new form of slavery. This book is the result of a collective and multidisciplinary reflection organized by a group of international researchers working in the field of medicine and social sciences. It helps better understand how the emergence of new health industries may contribute to the development of a global medical tourism. It opens new avenues for reflection on technologies that are based on appropriation of parts of the body of others for health purposes, a type of practice that can be metaphorically compared to cannibalism. Are these the fi rst steps towards a proletariat of men- and women-objects considered as a reservoir of products of human origin needed to improve the health or well-being of the better-off? The book raises the issue of the uncontrolled use of medical advances that can sometimes reach the anticipations of dystopian literature and science fiction.

A clinical handbook on gestational surrogacy, with thorough guidance for clinicians involved in global third-party reproductive treatment.

This is one book in the ABA Consumer Guide Series. This volume examines assisted reproductive technology, and provides readers with the information needed to understand and navigate the process and to achieve their goal of parentage through ART. The book explains the available ART options; the process for choosing a medical provider and legal representative; understanding and entering into appropriate agreements; and the unique issues that may arise pre-and post-birth.

Adoption and surrogate pregnancy are the two most realistic options currently available for millions of couples unable to have biological children. In the past decade, international adoption has become popular among those who wish to avoid the wait associated with adopting domestically. Yet because of unique political, economic, and cultural circumstances within individual countries, international adoption is fraught with legal controversies and difficulties. Surrogate pregnancy is a relatively new and inherently complicated alternative. With few regulations to guide the process and protect those involved, however, countries struggle to address its ethical and moral questions, in addition to the legal, political, cultural, and environmental ramifications. Providing a historic overview and defining the key issues, Adoption and Surrogate Pregnancy examines the laws related to adoption and surrogate pregnancy in five countries: the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom, and Guatemala. The discussion covers the ways in which adoption and surrogate pregnancy overlap and influence each other, the nuances that further complicate matters, and the controversies surrounding both issues—such as fears of exploitation, class discrimination, socially "unwanted" children, same-sex parenthood, and the difficulties of governing the family unit. Allowing students to compare the subjects from the perspectives of different countries and cultures, this balanced and objective volume sheds light on the way these issues affect the global community.

Susan Markens takes on one of the hottest issues on the fertility front—surrogate motherhood—in a book that illuminates the culture wars that have erupted over new reproductive technologies in the United States. In an innovative analysis of legislative responses to surrogacy in the bellwether states of New York and California, Markens explores how discourses about gender, family, race, genetics, rights, and choice have shaped policies aimed at this issue. She examines the views of key players, including legislators, women's organizations, religious groups, the media, and others. In a study that finds surprising ideological agreement among those with opposing views of surrogate motherhood, Markens challenges common assumptions about our responses to reproductive technologies and at the same time offers a fascinating picture of how reproductive politics shape social policy.

"This is Claude. He's five years old, the youngest of five brothers. He also loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess.When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl. Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They're just not sure they're ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude's secret. Until one day it explodes."--