In the Matter of Baby M - Significance, The Trial Begins, "by These Standards, We Are All Unfit Mothers", New Jersey Supreme Court's Opinion

In the Matter of Baby M - Significance

This was the first widely followed trial to wrestle with the ethical questions raised by "reproductive technology." This case rejected the legality of surrogacy contracts while eliciting a divided response from feminists. Some asserted the primacy of a mother's claim to her child; others argued that any nullification of the contract would constitute a restriction upon a woman's right to control he…

In the Matter of Baby M - Further Readings

In the Matter of Baby M - The Trial Begins

The trial commenced on 5 January 1987, by which time a guardian ad litem had been appointed for the child, known as "Baby M." The Sterns had received temporary custody. Mary Beth Whitehead, who had been ordered by Judge Harvey Sorkow to discontinue breast-feeding the child, had been temporarily awarded two one-hour visits each week, "strictly supervised under constant surveillance . . . in a seque…

In the Matter of Baby M - "by These Standards, We Are All Unfit Mothers"

Outside the courtroom, 121 prominent women refuted Schechter's contentions and the "expert opinions" of Brodzinsky and Greif. On 12 March 1987, they issued a document entitled "By These Standards, We Are All Unfit Mothers." The document quoted from each of the expert's testimony and included the New York Times' summary of what commentators called Dr. Schechter's "Patty Cake" test: Dr. Schechter fa…

In the Matter of Baby M - New Jersey Supreme Court's Opinion

The Supreme Court of New Jersey overturned the lower court's ruling on 2 February 1988. It invalidated the surrogacy contract, annulled Betsy Stern's adoption of Baby M, and restored the parental rights of Mary Beth Whitehead. Writing for a unanimous court, Chief Justice Wilentz said: We do not know of, and cannot conceive of, any other case where a perfectly fit mother was expected to surrender h…

In the Matter of Baby M - Surrogate Mothers

In 1978, Louise Brown was born in England, becoming the first baby born through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Since then, over 33,000 babies have been born through surrogacy methods; 7,000 in 1994 alone. Between 1988 and 1995, the number of women in the United States suffering from infertility problems rose from 4.9 million to 6.1 million; an increase of 25 percent. It is estimated, that of these …