Assisted Reproductive Technology

Assisted Reproductive Technology refers to various techniques used by individuals to achieve a pregnancy through the use of medical technology. This covers everything from taking fertility drugs through "adopting" embryos not genetically related to the Intended Parents. There is virtually no law in Minnesota regulating the use of these techniques, although medical clinics require their patients to enter into various contractual relationships before beginning treatment.

Clinics

Doctors who treat infertility will have patients sign various disclosure and consent documents. These documents describe the procedure to be done and the various risks involved. The more complicated the procedure is, the longer the disclosure and consent forms will be.

Donors

Sometimes a family cannot achieve a pregnancy because one (or both) of the Intended Parents is not able to produce the necessary sperm or eggs. In that case the family may choose to use donor sperm or donor eggs to create an embryo through in vitro fertilization. Sometimes donors are anonymous, but sometimes the donor is known to the Intended Parents. In that case, the known donor (and spouse, if there is one) and the Intended Parents enter into a written legal agreement outlining the terms of the donation.

Surrogate Mother

If the female partner is unable to produce eggs and to carry a pregnancy, the Intended Parents may choose to use a surrogate mother. This term is now commonly used to refer to a woman who is artificially inseminated with sperm but whose own egg is used to create the child. The surrogate mother then has a genetic relationship to the child.

Gestational Carrier

If the Intended Mother cannot carry a pregnancy, the Intended Parents may use a Gestational Carrier. A Gestational Carrier carries an embryo which is not genetically related to her. The Intended Parents may create their own embryo or use an embryo which is created from eggs and/or sperm not their own.

Embryo Adoption

Some couples may create more embryos than they use. If they complete their family or decide not continue with fertility work, they will have some embryos in storage. For those families who do not want their embryos destroyed or used for medical research, they have the choice of donating them to another infertile couple. This donation is not legally an adoption, but it does share many characteristics with traditional adoption. There are several embryo adoption programs in the United States, one of them in Minnesota.