The Joint State Government Commission Subcommittee on Assisted

Reproductive Technologies is comprised of representatives from the Commission’s

Advisory Committees on Adoption Law, Decedents’ Estates Laws and Domestic

Relations Law, as well as practitioners with experience in matters relating to assisted

reproductive technologies and establishing the legal parentage of children born as a result

of such technologies. In addition, consultants from the Pennsylvania Department of

Health were invited to participate in the subcommittee discussions to provide guidance on

current departmental practices and procedures.

The impetus for establishing the subcommittee was the introduction of Senate Bill

408 (Printer’s No. 391) of 2005, which provided a statutory framework for surrogate

parenting agreements, and the Senate Judiciary Committee public hearing on the

legislation on March 14, 2005. During the March 14 public hearing, Senator Stewart J.

Greenleaf, the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, requested that the Subcommittee on

Assisted Reproductive Technologies review the subject matter and report back to the

Senate Judiciary Committee with its recommendations.

Lawrence A. Kalikow was named the chair of the subcommittee, which held its

organizational meeting on April 22, 2005. The subcommittee subsequently met nine

times to date: June 2005, August 2005, October 2005, December 2005, January 2006,

April 2006, September 2006, December 2006 and January 2007. During the meetings,

the subcommittee members thoroughly reviewed the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA),

statutory law, case law, current Pennsylvania practice and Department of Health

procedures.

The subcommittee members agreed on a statutory framework for assisted

reproductive technologies in Title 23 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (the

Pennsylvania Assisted Reproductive Technologies Act), consisting of general provisions

and provisions regarding gestational agreements, set forth in this report as Subchapters A,

B and C of proposed Chapter 59 of Title 23. The members also recommended that the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court amend the Orphans’ Court rules to conform to the

provisions of this chapter.

Comments follow the sections of this chapter and explain the statutory provisions.

Several comments are derived from the UPA comments and concepts raised in the UPA.

The official comments may be used in determining the intent of the General Assembly.

In addition, throughout this chapter, notes explain the source of the provisions and

outline similarities and differences with the UPA.

The members are continuing their discussions on provisions relating to children of

assisted reproduction and records, which will constitute the foundation of a subsequent

report and will add Subchapters D and E to proposed Chapter 59 of Title 23.

In light of the complexity of the issues concerning assisted reproduction, the

members recommended a review of the report of the President’s Council on Bioethics

titled

2004).

Reproduction and Responsibility: The Regulation of New Biotechnologies (March