A Michigan woman who was forced to legally carry her own children due to outdated surrogacy laws says she is “almost over” her years-long battle to change the state’s laws.
Tammy Myers was elated with joy when she delivered her twin sons on January 11, 2021. It was at the Michigan hospital where she received a call from her lawyer that a judge had denied her perfunctory request for an emergency rights order.
It would perhaps be almost two years before she and her husband Jordan could be listed on the twins’ birth certificates as father and mother, despite being biologically just that. And all because they chose to go the route of surrogacy.
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It was a necessary call due to Tammy’s breast cancer prognosis in 2015 as they planned to expand their family; the couple also share a daughter. Things changed for the family when their babies were born eight weeks early, for ABC Information.
Due to the way surrogacy laws work in Michigan, the couple filed a pre-birth order for their twins. The problem is that the babies’ early arrival meant the twins were born before the order could be accepted.
Since then, the couple have seen two extra pre-birth orders denied, leaving them only one choice. They must apply to raise their own organic children. The state’s Surrogate Parenthood Act of 1988 requires a ruling that someone undergoing surrogacy be named the child’s guardian or go through the adoption process.
Unable to position themselves on their children’s entry certificates, the Myers asked the surrogate and her husband if they could be the twins’ godparents, listing their names on the entry certificates.
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In December 2022, the couple was finally allowed to co-parent their children, but Tammy wasn’t happy to let it end there after enduring nearly two years of legal stress and worry over what she called an “insanely outdated” law.
“I honestly don’t think I’ll be able to put this behind me until I see this law changed,” she said at the time.
Now, about fifteen months after adopting their children, Myers says People diary: “We are almost at the end. For the first time in a long time, the air feels a little lighter.”
Explaining why she couldn’t stop the battle even after her family achieved their goals, Tammy told the newspaper: “It never felt finished because, for me, the ending wasn’t our adoption. The tip was to change and write it wrong, because I didn’t want any other family to go through this.”
She added: “The whirlwind of the last three years and the trauma that followed that, I was so fixated on the main goal that it was a race to get over the finish line.”
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On November 8, Michigan’s new Home Safety Act passed the state House and is expected to move to the Senate next week, where it is also expected to be transferred.
“It is the courage, courage and strength of Tammy and Jordan Myers, and each family who has come forward to share their stories, that will help us in our effort,” said Congresswoman Hillary Scholten. The new legislation ensures that children can have access to a safe, legal relationship with their parents.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has made it clear that she is simply waiting for the bill to reach her desk. “I look forward to reviewing and signing the Michigan Home Safety Act when it reaches my desk,” she posted on X/Twitter Thursday. “I will continue to work hard with my partners in the Michigan Legislature to make our state the best place to start, develop and grow your family.”
Now, with most of the work done, Myers is ready to reflect on what she’s about to accomplish. “Knowing that if these payments are passed into law, it will help so many Michigan families who will someday walk in my shoes puts this all in perspective for me,” she said.
She recalled the second state Senate hearing on March 7, when she spoke with the chief director of the fertility heart she had used. “The principal turned to me and said, ‘You know how big this is and how much this will influence other families who won’t want to go through what you went through.’