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FAQ #61: Can my job fire me if I am missing work for surrogacy appointments?
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you are allowed to take time off for serious medical conditions, which may include surrogacy-related medical appointments, provided you meet the eligibility requirements. However, as a surrogate before your pregnancy, you may not have a serious medical condition so the FMLA may not apply.
Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), you cannot be terminated or discriminated against because of your pregnancy. This protection can extend to surrogates if your pregnancy impacts your ability to work. This can protect a surrogate while she is pregnant.
In short, you should obtain permission from your employer for medical appointments. You may be protected from termination during your pregnancy, although you may be terminated if the reasons are not related to pregnancy.
FAQ #62: How do I get disability benefits as a surrogate?
Read our blog here: https://www.tsonglaw.com/post/know-your-rights-paid-and-protected-leave-in-surrogacy
FAQ #63: How do I notarize my surrogacy agreement?
If your contract requires your surrogacy contract to be notarized, here is what you typically need to do.
1. Print the agreement single sided.
2. Initial each page.
3. Bring your government ID to a notary public. Call your bank or local mailbox or copy store to see if they have one.
4. There will be a small fee to notarize. The notary will verify your identity, take your thumb print, watch you sign.
5. Some courts require a notary declaration. The contract may have a page for the notary to sign. If not, you should request an All Purpose Acknowledgement page that the notary sign and stamp.
6. Scan the entire agreement and email it to your lawyer for approval. In some cases you need to mail the agreement.
7. Sometimes you can use a web notary. Check with your attorney if this is ok. An online notary will verify your identity, and provide a notary stamp to your digital signature.
8. Once both sides notarize, you will be legally cleared.
FAQ #64: Do intended parents have a right to attend medical appointments of the surrogate?
Usually the surrogacy contract will require the intended parents to receive notice of the pregnancy medical appointments of the surrogate and give the right to attend them.
The surrogate is supposed to sign paperwork from the doctor so the intended parents can attend appointments including the delivery.
In most contracts, the intended parents may not interfere in the doctor-patient relationship and must respect the modesty of the surrogate. If only one person can be in the delivery room, usually the surrogate can decide who she wants to be there for support.
Whether the Intended parents can attend appointments by phone or Facetime, will depend on the doctor’s office. Most do not allow it.
FAQ #65: Do intended parents have a right to medical records of the surrogate?
It depends on the contract.
In many contracts, the surrogate will give intended parents or the agency the right to speak with her doctor and request and review medical records.
In order to allow this, the surrogate will agree to sign a HIPAA release which authorizes the intended parents to review the medical records.
The lawyer of the surrogate should limit it to only records relating to the pregnancy.
In most cases, the intended parents will not request the medical records unless there is a complication in the pregnancy and they want to determine the reasons for the complication.
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