TMH v. DMT
Florida District Court of Appeal
79 So. 3d 787 (2011)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
TMH (plaintiff) and DMT (defendant) were same-sex partners who conceived a plan whereby, using TMH’s donated ova and in vitro fertilization, DMT would bear a child to term, and the couple would jointly provide for the child’s support and upbringing. Section 742.14 of the Florida statutes dealt with donations of genetic material, but only in the context of donations commissioned by heterosexual couples. The partners went through with their plan. DMT gave birth to a girl, thereby becoming the birth mother of a child who, genetically, was TMH’s daughter. After several years of successfully coparenting their daughter, the couple broke up acrimoniously. TMH lost all contact with her biological daughter. Four years later, TMH tracked down DMT and the girl in Australia, where TMH had process served on DMT to assert TMH’s parental rights. The trial court ruled that, under § 724.14, only DMT had any parental rights, and TMH was merely an egg donor who had relinquished her own parental rights. TMH appealed to the Florida District Court of Appeal.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sawaya, J.)
Concurrence (Monaco, J.)
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