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Recently I attended the Mid-Year Conference of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA). It was held in Anaheim, California and was entitled, Master the Magic of Family Building: Reproductive Technology Law in a Changing World.

The Academy is dedicated to ethical family formation. It is a credentialed, professional organization dedicated to the advancement of best legal practices in the area for assisted reproduction and the protection of the interests of all parties involved in assisted reproduction endeavors, including children.

Some of the topics and issues covered at the conference were "Reproductive Rights and Third Party Reproduction in the Current Political Climate," fertility preservation for cancer survivors, surrogacy insurance, embryo donation, ethics and standards of practice in surrogacy arrangements, and recent developments in international surrogacy law.

I had the privilege of moderating a conference session called, "It's a Small World: Cross - Border Surrogacy and Dual Citizenship (How to Advise International Parents Returning Home from the U.S.)." We had three highly competent and experienced international lawyers including Mandy Pecher of Dresden, Germany (also admitted to practice in Michigan), Fabien Joly of Paris, France and Ida Parisi of Milan, Italy. These lawyers discussed recent case law and trends in Europe, and covered surrogacy, legal parentage of intended parents returning home to European countries, and the citizenship and immigration requirements for babies born through gestational surrogacy for their specific countries.

The Academy attorney members have a great deal of experience in assisted reproduction matters. Members must have completed at least 50 diverse assisted reproduction technology legal matters prior to being invited to join the organization. The matters must include such legal services such as obtaining parentage or birth orders, drafting and negotiating surrogacy, egg donor and sperm donor contracts, and drafting or reviewing embryo donation contracts. There is a directory of member attorneys which is a very good resource for anyone considering using assisted reproduction to form their families or for anyone considering becoming an egg or sperm donor, or a gestational surrogate.