agreements, the gestational mother is the child's natural mother.
difference between the two categories is that the gestational mother is
The Cullitons sought a declaratory judgment to require the hospital to list them, and not the gestational mother, as the parents of the twins.
(116) In R.R., the gestational mother was also the genetic mother, having been artificially inseminated with sperm from the intended father.
It bears more similarity to a mix-up at the time of a hospital's discharge of two newborn infants, which should simply be corrected at once, than to one where a gestational mother has arguably the same rights to claim parentage as the genetic mother.
If biological-relatedness is the sine qua non of natural parenthood according to New York law, a gestational mother, such as Donna Fasano, necessarily meets that test.
(57) Justice Kennard, in his minority opinion, berated the court for its reliance on a contractual standard, arguing that rules derived from tort law, intellectual property law, commercial law or contract law were inadequate to protect the interests of either the child or the gestational mother. (58) He opted to decide the case according to the best interests of the child, and avoided the question of the natural mother altogether.
(107) Another opinion holds that both the gestational mother and genetic mother are considered the "mother" for matters of Jewish law.
She would award custody of the newborn child solely to the gestating mother, the person who by virtue of her unique physical connection to the child has the greater emotional connection as well.(47) Thus, at birth, the gestational mother would be afforded complete autonomy in making decisions for the child, while the biological father, who at that point has not invested emotionally, would have no recognizable property interest and thus no custodial interest.(48) Baker would allow people other than the gestational mother to invest in the child and thereby gain custodial interests, but only if the investment is made with the permission of the mother.
Thus, the gestational mother is awarded custody of the newborn because her unique physical connection affords her greater emotional connection.
The gestational position is adopted by George Annas and others who have argued that the gestational mother should be legally presumed to have the right and responsibility to rear the child.
The first reason focuses on what the gestational mother deserves, based on her investment in the child, while the second reason, though mentioning her contribution, also focuses on the interests of the child during and immediately after birth.