Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-808. Effect of noncompliance, standard of review, remedies
(a) A gestational carrier agreement that does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article is not enforceable.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-808
- Assisted reproduction: means a method of causing pregnancy other than through sexual intercourse and includes, but is not limited to:
(i) Intrauterine, intracervical, or vaginal insemination;
(ii) Donation of gametes;
(iii) Donation of embryos;
(iv) In vitro fertilization and transfer of embryos; and
(v) Intracytoplasmic sperm injection. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
- Birth: includes stillbirth and fetal death. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
- Child: means an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined pursuant to this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
- Determination of parentage: means establishment of a parent-child relationship by a judicial or administrative proceeding or signing of a valid acknowledgement of parentage pursuant to article 3 of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Gestational carrier: means an adult individual who is not an intended parent and who enters into a gestational carrier agreement to bear a child conceived using the gametes of another individual and not the gestational carrier's own, except that an individual who carries a child for a family member using the gestational carrier's own gametes and who fulfills the requirements of article 8 of this chapter is a gestational carrier. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
- Gestational carrier agreement: means a contract between an intended parent or parents and a gestational carrier intended to result in a live birth. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
- Intended parent: means an individual, whether married or unmarried, who manifests an intent to be legally bound as a parent of a child conceived through assisted reproduction or a gestational carrier agreement. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
- Parent: means an individual who has established parentage that meets the requirements of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
- Parentage: means the legal relationship between a child and a parent as established under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
(b) In the event that a gestational carrier agreement does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article, the family court or the superior court shall determine parentage based on the intent of the parties, including evidence of the intent of the parties at the time of execution.
(c) Except as expressly provided in a gestational carrier agreement and in subsection (d) of this section, in the event of a breach of the gestational carrier agreement by the gestational carrier or the intended parent or parents, the gestational carrier or the intended parent or parents are entitled to all remedies available at law or in equity.
(d) If an individual alleges that the parentage of a child born to a gestational carrier is not the result of assisted reproduction, and this question is relevant to the determination of parentage, the court may order genetic testing.
(e) Specific performance is not an available remedy for a breach by the gestational carrier of any term in a gestational carrier agreement that requires the gestational carrier to be impregnated or to terminate a pregnancy. Specific performance is an available remedy for a breach by the gestational carrier of any term that prevents the intended parent or parents from exercising the full rights of parentage immediately upon the birth of the child.
History of Section.
P.L. 2020, ch. 59, § 2; P.L. 2020, ch. 60, § 2.