The NJ Law Journal reports (subscription access only):
Two decades ago, a surrogate-pregnancy arrangement that went awry put New Jersey in the spotlight, as its courts were forced to fashion a legal framework for an increasingly prevalent practice nationwide.
The state Supreme Court’s seminal ruling, In the Matter of Baby M , 109 N.J. 396 (1988), held surrogacy contracts unenforceable when disputes arise between birthing mothers and the women who hire them. Instead, the best interests of the child would govern.
But the ruling did not settle the question of potential liability of professionals who set up surrogacy arrangements, and a case in Monmouth County is testing those waters.
In A.G.R. v. Brisman , Mon-L-1012-08, a woman who first agreed to give up her offspring but had a change of heart is suing the lawyer who set up the surrogate parenting arrangement and the doctor who handled the medical procedure . . .
