ATLANTA— Today State Representative James Mills (R-Gainesville) introduced House Bill 388, also know as “The Option of Adoption Act.” This bill will allow prospective parents to adopt human embryos.
“Under Georgia’s current laws, a woman could implant an embryo and carry it to term, only to have the biological parents reassert their parental rights when she goes into labor. That’s not fair, and it’s a risk that most people are unwilling to take. The Option of Adoption Act would fix that problem and protect a woman’s parental right should she choose to adopt and implant an embryo,” said Rep. Mills.
The Option of Adoption Act would provide procedures for embryo adoption so that the genetic mother and father can relinquish their rights to embryos before birth. Once the genetic parents have signed a written surrender of parental rights, an embryo could be transferred to its adoptive parents according to the adoption laws in Georgia.
“Human embryo adoption is a great way to give infertile couple’s another option in their quest to become parents. I hope that this legislation gives them the confidence to choose this form of adoption,” said Rep. James Mills.
According to a recent study, there are approximately 10,000 human embryos in cryopreservation.
HB 388 is cosponsored by Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R- St. Simons), Rep. Ben Harbin (R- Evans), Rep. Melvin Everson (R- Snellville), Rep. Len Walker (R- Loganville), and Rep. Ed Setzler (R- Acworth).
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