In The Matter of The Declaration of Parentage
Annotate this CaseRespondents Jane Doe I (“Intended Mother”) and John Doe I (“Intended Father,” collectively with Intended Mother, “Intended Parents”) were a married couple living in Alaska. In May, 2014, Intended Parents contracted with Jane Doe (“Gestational Carrier”) living in Idaho, to carry an embryo made from Intended Father’s sperm and a donor egg. After the baby was born, Gestational Carrier and her husband, John Doe (“Husband”), moved for a declaratory judgment that Intended Parents are the parents of the resulting child (“Child”). The district court refused. It reasoned that declaratory judgment was not available to determine the parentage of Child because Idaho law already provides a statutory means by which parties can become parents when using a gestational surrogate: the termination of that gestational surrogate’s parental rights and the adoption of the child. The district court also found that the surrogacy agreement entered into between the parties was void as against public policy to the extent that it sought to contractually assign parentage. Finding that the district court did not err in refusing to grant declaratory relief, the Idaho Supreme Court did not address whether the underlying surrogacy contract was in violation of public policy.
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