300 journal of law, medicine & ethics Commercial Surrogacy Case Study: Indiana Twins, a South Carolina Surrogate, and a New Jersey Bird In July of 2005, Indianapolis witnessed streaming headlines in the local newspaper attempting to distill the confusion surrounding the adoption of two prema- ture infants by an adoptive parent. Thirteen articles and opinion pieces introduced the public to a murky legal and ethical transaction. Stating his overwhelm- ing desire to have children, a New Jersey schoolteacher hired the services of a local attorney. The attorney pro- cured a South Carolina woman for a compensated gestational surrogacy contract. 1 Under the contract, the surrogate and the attorney would meet in Indiana to complete the execution of the contract and transfer parental rights via adoption after the birth of the twins. 2 Following the premature birth of the twin girls in Indianapolis, an investigation into the adoption peti- tion uncovered several vital legal discrepancies. First, the contract provided that the New Jersey man would adopt the two infants as a manner of transferring parental rights following the surrogacy process. How- ever, under Indiana adoption law, if the adopter is not a genetic parent, then he must be a state resident or the children must be defned as diffcult to place in adoption. Diffcult to place under the Indiana adop- tion statute generally refers to medical conditions, such as permanent or severe disabilities which cause children to be more diffcult to place. By these criteria, the twins would not be considered diffcult to place. 3 Second, more information surfaced concerning both the twins’ genetic parentage and the adoptive father’s residence, calling into question the legal requirements for adoption. Though initial media reports suggested that the New Jersey man was the biological father, further investigation by the Indianapolis Star later reported that he had been unable to establish pater- nity. 4 According to the Indianapolis Star, the two infants were born white, with blue eyes and blonde hair, yet the supposed biological mother was black, suggesting that an egg donor may also have been used. 5 The issue of parentage becomes important when the biological mother is asked to give up her legal rights to the child. When egg donors are involved, standard medical protocol between the parties typically states that the donor gives up all rights to any resulting off- spring. In this case, it was unclear which precedent should legally apply. Furthermore, court records indicate that, prior to fnalization of the adoption, the adoptive father entered the neonatal intensive care unit to visit the twins with a live bird in his pocket and bird feces on his shirt. On a separate occasion, he indicated that he would drive the newborn twins back to New Jersey in his van despite the obvious fact that the twins were still dependent on ventilators and medical intensive care. 6 Following these bizarre scenes at the hospital, further investiga- tion found that adoption records listed the New Jer- sey man’s Indiana residence as a temporary-stay hotel. After hospital personnel voiced concerns, child welfare workers uncovered the records completed by a child placing agency which he hired to complete the adop- Ethics, Law, and Commercial Surrogacy: A Call for Uniformity Katherine Drabiak, Carole Wegner, Valita Fredland, and Paul R. Helft INDEPENDENT Katherine Drabiak is a student at the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis. Carole Wegner, Ph.D., is Director of ART/Embryology at the Center for Reproduc- tive Biology of Indiana. She is also a Faculty Affliate at the Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics. Valita Fredland, J. D., M. A., is a scholar of hospital law and bioeth- ics. Paul R. Helft, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Director of the Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics.