Pending surrogate case

Emobileclinic  Gossip : Case between Sause v. Schnitzer (Oregon, Multnomah County Cir. Ct., filed 3/3/16):

A case that ticks all the boxes for a made-for-TV movie is winding its way through the court system in Oregon. Jordan Schnitzer is a 64-year-old, wealthy philanthropist, businessman and fine art collector, who has two daughters from his marriage that ended in 2003. He wanted to have a son. He entered into a written agreement with a woman to provide eggs, and with a gestational surrogate to carry a pregnancy.

The “donor”, Cory Sause, was well known to him, as she was, at the time, his girlfriend. Additionally, she is an accomplished business executive and a member of another prominent and powerful Oregon family. The contract between them specified that he would only take custody of any resultant child if the child was male. When Schnitzer’s son was born via a gestational carrier last year, he immediately filed a petition asking to be declared the sole parent of the child. The order establishing his parental rights to the exclusion of others was issued seven days after the birth.

However, the baby’s arrival was also promptly followed by a claim to parentage by Cory Sause. Schnitzer and Sause used preimplantation genetic diagnosis to identify the male embryos, which, they agreed, would be used to attempt a gestational carrier pregnancy. They also agreed within the contract that Sause could keep the female embryos for her own use, and that Schnitzer would relinquish his rights to them. “Schnitzer hereby relinquishes any claim to or jurisdiction over any female embryos from Sause and any resulting female offspring.” However, the language as to relinquishment of the male embryos by Sause only referenced the embryos, not resulting offspring. Sause claims this demonstrates the parties’ intent to preserve Sause’s parental rights to the child, once born, and she is asking to be listed as the mother on the birth certificate and to have visitation rights to the child. Stay tuned.
http://www.wweek.com/news/2016/03/16/jordan-schnitzer-gets-a-son-and-a-court-battle/
Jordan Schnitzer’s Baby Saga, http://corey-law.com/family-law/?p=181 (May 17, 2016)