Va. Code » Title 20. Domestic Relations » Chapter 9. Status of Children of Assisted Conception

Va. Code Ann. § 20-156

Definitions

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As used in this chapter unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Assisted conception" means a pregnancy resulting from any intervening medical technology, whether in vivo or in vitro, which completely or partially replaces sexual intercourse as the means of conception. Such intervening medical technology includes, but is not limited to, conventional medical and surgical treatment as well as noncoital reproductive technology such as artificial insemination by donor, cryopreservation of gametes and embryos, in vitro fertilization, uterine embryo lavage, embryo transfer, gamete intrafallopian tube transfer, and low tubal ovum transfer.

"Compensation" means payment of any valuable consideration for services in excess of reasonable medical and ancillary costs.

"Cryopreservation" means freezing and storing of gametes and embryos for possible future use in assisted conception.

"Donor" means an individual, other than a surrogate, who contributes the sperm or egg used in assisted conception.

"Gamete" means either a sperm or an ovum.

"Genetic parent" means an individual who contributes a gamete resulting in a conception.

"Gestational mother" means the woman who gives birth to a child, regardless of her genetic relationship to the child.

"Embryo" means the organism resulting from the union of a sperm and an ovum from first cell division until approximately the end of the second month of gestation.

"Embryo transfer" means the placing of a viable embryo into the uterus of a gestational mother.

"Infertile" means the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse.

"Intended parent" means a married couple or unmarried individual who enters into an agreement with a surrogate under the terms of which such parent will be the parent of any child born to the surrogate through assisted conception regardless of the genetic relationships between the intended parent, the surrogate, and the child.

"In vitro" means any process that can be observed in an artificial environment such as a test tube or tissue culture plate.

"In vitro fertilization" means the fertilization of ova by sperm in an artificial environment.

"In vivo" means any process occurring within the living body.

"Legal or contractual custody" means having authority granted by law, contract, or court order to make decisions concerning the use of an embryo.

"Ovum" means the female gamete or reproductive cell prior to fertilization.

"Reasonable medical and ancillary costs" means the costs of the performance of assisted conception, the costs of prenatal maternal health care, the costs of maternal and child health care for a reasonable postpartum period, the reasonable costs for medications and maternity clothes, and any additional and reasonable costs for housing and other living expenses attributable to the pregnancy.

"Sperm" means the male gametes or reproductive cells which impregnate the ova.

"Surrogacy contract" means an agreement between the intended parent, a surrogate, and her spouse, if any, in which the surrogate agrees to be impregnated through the use of assisted conception, to carry any resulting fetus, and to relinquish to the intended parent the custody of and parental rights to any resulting child.

"Surrogate" means any adult woman who agrees to bear a child carried for the intended parent.

1991, c. 600; 1997, c. 81; 2019, c. 375.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases, 1992–2015 · leading case: Breit v. Mason
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Breit v. Mason (2011) vactapp · cites it 13× “Title 20, Chapter 9, Code §§ 20-156 to -165, an Act related to the Status of Children of Assisted Conception, 14 provides *334 that, in determining the parentage of a child conceived through assisted conception, “[a] donor is not the parent of a child conceived through assisted…”
Joyce Rosemary Bruce v. Robert Preston Boardwine (2015) vactapp · cites it 18× “As relevant here, the court held that the assisted conception statute, Code § 20-156 et seq., did not *628 apply because Bruce’s “pregnancy did not result from ‘artificial insemination’ or any other ‘intervening medical technology.”
In Re Baby (2014) tenn · cites it 2× “§§ 168 -B:1 to -B:32 (generally permitting traditional and gestational surrogacy agreements subject to certain conditions, including a traditional surrogate’s right to revoke the agreement within seventy-two hours of birth); Va. Code Ann. §§ 20-156 to 20-165 (generally…”
David J. Rosecky v. Monica M. Schissel (2013) wis · cites it 2× “§§ 78B-15-801 to -809 (West 2012); Va. Code Ann. §§ 20-156 to -165 (West 2012); Wash.”
McGehee v. Edwards (2004) va · cites it 4× “Davis filed an answer which included a request that the court decide whether "direct lineal descendants" includes children of direct lineal descendants *101 who are legally adopted by direct lineal descendants or born to them through "assisted conception" as defined in Code §…”
Schafer v. Astrue (2011) ca4 · cites it 2× “1(2) (incorporating the provisions of Va.Code Ann. § 20-156 et seq. in determining the parentage of "a child resulting from assisted conception").”
Doe v. Doe (1992) vactapp · cites it 2× “We recognize that the General Assembly recently enacted Code §§ 20-156 through 20-165 to address the status of children born as a result of surrogacy contracts, as well as related issues.”
Boardwine v. Bruce (2014) vaccroanokecty · cites it 24× “Code § 20-158, which only applies to children born from a Va. Code § 20-156 “assisted conception,” bars Mr.”
Whitlock ex rel. Branch v. Chater (1997) vawd “1, which states as follows: Relatives of the decedent conceived before his death but bom thereafter, and children resulting from assisted conception born after decedent’s death who are determined to be relatives of the decedent as provided in Chapter 9 (§ 20-156 et seq.) of…”
L.F. v. Breit (2013) va · cites it 8× “, read without referencing other statutes, would control the determination of paternity in all cases concerning children of unwed biological parents who enter into such voluntary written agreements.”
In Re Baby (2014) tenn “§§ 168 -B:1 to -B:32 (generally permitting traditional and gestational surrogacy agreements subject to certain conditions, including a traditional surrogate’s right to revoke the agreement within seventy-two hours of birth); Va. Code Ann. §§ 20-156 to 20-165 (generally…”
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