Hey everyone!! Welcome back to the RRRH Internship blog. I can’t believe this is my 3rd semester as an intern for Dr. Johnson. For those of you who are not familiar with my project, I am a research assistant in the Department of Sociology. I primarily work on finding legal statutes related to gestational surrogacy, artificial insemination, and egg donation. After hunting down statutes, I summarize the statutes for each state in an excel chart. The chart includes when the statute went into effect, the political affiliation of the governor who signed it into law, whether or not the statute includes a version of the Uniform Parentage Act, and noteworthy case laws. Thus far, I have created timelines for 35 states, with only 15 left to go!
Since the start of time as a Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health Intern, I have learned not only about important reproductive justice issues plaguing women aroundthe country, but also about how laws are signed into effect. This past summer, I transcribed several Louisiana senate discussions related to a gestational surrogacy bill. It was fascinating to listen to representatives from both pro-life and pro-choice organizations argue both for and against the passing of the bill. Prior to 2011, Louisiana did not have a law regulating gestational surrogacy. I was surprised to discover that many pro-life senators were actually in favor of gestational surrogacy and artificial insemination as they consider these technologies to be “pro-family.” However, the law currently does not address the use of gestational surrogacy for same-sex couples as it only relates to a surrogacy arrangement between a man and a woman. Despite the progress Louisiana has made, much work still needs to be done.
I am excited to continue my research this semester and watch Dr. Johnson’s book come to life!! Until next time…..
Signing off,
Christina McCarthy
(Photo of the Senate Discussion)