In 2011, twenty-nine-year-old Crystal Kelley served as a surrogate for a Connecticut couple. Kelley established this relationship with the prospective parents via a surrogacy agency. "In August 2011, Kelley had signed an official contract with a surrogacy agency saying that she’d agree to abort if the fetus had a severe abnormality" (Graff). In October 2011, Kelley was implanted with the couple's embryo from in-vitro fertilization. During the trimester of the first trimester of the pregnancy Kelley and the prospective parents had a rapport. In February 2012, Kelley discovered that she was carrying a fetus with developmental abnormalities (brain cyst, heart defect, cleft lip, and cleft palate). Physicians believed that the baby "would only have a twenty-five chance of leading a normal life" (Graff). Therefore, the prospective parents offered their surrogate $10,000 to terminate the pregnancy. Kelley proposed a counteroffer of $15,000 because terminating the pregnancy would be against her religious beliefs.
The prospective…show more content… Breaching a contract is a form of civil crime (tort); when a party breaks a binding agreement, it is a cause for legal action. However, it is important to note that the surrogacy contract was not very specific. It did not describe which diseases or conditions constitutes a severe disability. Therefore, Kelley's lawyer was capable of countering the law suit. In the United States several policies regarding reproductive rights are determined by local and state legislators. In Connecticut, the genetic parents of a fetus are considered as the legal guardians. However, in the state of Michigan, the individual who carries the fetus is regarded as the legal guardian. This case also highlights the applicable jurisdictions of surrogacy contracts. Are contracts only honorable in the state in which they were signed? How is parenthood or guardianship best determined
