I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Rockstar ART attorney Colleen Quinn talks nightmare cases, difficult valuations, and changing the law. Colleen Quinn has over three decades of experience in adoption, personal injury, medical malpractice, employment, estate planning, and assisted reproductive technology law. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia, her B.A. from William and Mary, and served as Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Harry L. Carrico, Chief Justice, Virginia Supreme Court. Colleen is a Fellow and past President of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (“AAAA”). She has so many awards and recognitions as an outstanding attorney, we wouldn’t know where to start! Not to mention, Colleen is a parent to twin boys and teaches aerobics in her spare time. Listen as Colleen discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • How she got involved in ART Law • The case of the judge from hell (article link on the case below) • Her work changing surrogacy law in Virginia • Being an expert witness in the tragic mass embryo/egg loss cases Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about The Quinn Law Centers - A Division of Locke & Quinn at https://www.quinnlawcenters.com/ Learn more about the Jay Timmons and Rick Olson case at http://trachmanlawcenter.com/blog/assisted-reproductive-technologies/august-10th-above-the-law-article-bad-judgement

For Kaspar and his husband starting a family meant the world. Literally. They travelled from Denmark to the US to fulfill their dreams of having twins. Coming from a country were surrogacy is considered a legal grey zone, planning their journey went beyond budgeting for immense economic and emotional costs. They also had to factor in potential legal backlash, insurance problems and one looong flight home. Listen as Kaspar discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • How surrogacy is viewed in Denmark. And most of Europe, for that matter. • Kaspar and Lambang’s back story – 3 days into the relationship and they wanted kids! • Their process in deciding to use surrogacy. • Flipping their home to fund the surrogacy journey. • How they went about finding an agency and clinic. • How they chose their egg donor. • Time for the retrieval… 55 eggs?! Woah. • Meeting their gestational carrier. • Will there be more kids? • Understanding American health insurance.(Do Americans even understand it?) • Celebrating the small milestones. • The trip home and their epic playlist for the flight. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Men Having Babies at http://www.menhavingbabies.org/ Learn more about Denmark: https://www.visitdenmark.com/

Amanda Troxler is an assisted reproductive technology law attorney as well as a seven time egg donor. She was recently promoted to partner at Lazarus & Troxler in California. (Congratulations, Amanda!) She received her Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and her Juris Doctorate from UCLA Law School. Listen to Amanda as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Amanda’s back story and unique experience being raised by a single gay father. • Her career path to this niche area of law. • Her inspiration to be an egg donor, and the differing experiences among the seven journeys. • Her open versus anonymous donations -- including the adorable story of meeting one of her donation’s resulting children. (Did any kidnappings occur? Spoiler alert: none did.) • Her thoughts for those considering egg donation. • Her own embryos and family plans. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Amanda Troxler: http://lazlawfirm.com/

Jennifer Barfield is back! Jennifer is a Professor from Colorado State University in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. She specializes in reproductive physiology and assisted reproductive technologies in a variety of species. Listen to Jennifer as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • IVF1 update. Unfortunately, it’s a sad one. • Jennifer’s #1 ranked unusual animal reproductive feature… the pseudo-penis. (Yep. That’s a thing.) • Superfetation in humans and animals. • Mating behaviors of animals…that humans also do. • How much truth is there to Jurassic Park. • Parthenogenesis. Reproduce without a man! • Pronghorns aka super ovulators. • Seahorses. Males give birth!? (About time!) Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more or donate to the CSU Bison program: https://advancing.colostate.edu/BISON

Ursila McFadden experienced a devastating 39 week loss during her first surrogacy journey. Her story is heartbreaking, but also inspiring and filled with hope. Ursila went on to have two successful surrogacy journeys and become a case manager for a surrogacy agency, Kindred Surrogacy, helping others. Listen to Ursila as she discusses with Ellen and Jennifer: -Her background and inspiration to be a surrogate. -Sharing the weird things/ red flags about her matching. -Having to choose a birth option knowing that that baby was already gone. -Her emotional first meeting with the intended mother. -The day of the birth and the time spent with the baby and the intended mother. -Coping with the loss and the weeks following the delivery. -Journey #2 – New agency and new intended parents… unfortunately the match falls through. -Journey #3 – Done independently. Double embryo transfer… twins! -Journey #4 – Successful baby boy!

Dr. Skora is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, practicing at Fertility Specialist of Texas. He is passionate about all aspects of infertility, with a dedication to addressing the unique needs of the whole patient. He is also able to call upon his education and experience in psychology to help each patient overcome the emotional challenges of trying to con-ceive. Listen to Daniel as he discusses with Ellen and Jennifer: • His journey to practicing medicine in this specialty -- instead of be-coming a stockbroker! • Differences and explanations of CCS, PGS, PGT-A and PGD • Mosaic embryos complications • Advice when taking those first steps to infertility treatment • How to asses who to choose for a fertility clinic or specialist • Reality vs expectations • Complications and risks for being a gestational surrogate • Single vs double embryo transfer – is double embryo transfer really economically beneficial? • Whose fault is infertility?! • Not being afraid to look for care – time matters! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: trachmanlawcenter.com Learn more about Daniel A. Skora, M.D., or Fertility Specialist of Texas at https://fertilitytexas.com/about-us/dr-daniel-a-skora/ Learn more about Fertility and Sterility: https://www.fertstert.org/

Eve Wiley, originally from a small rural town in East, Texas, uncovered a life changing family secret about her genetic identity. Becoming a modern day Erin Brockovich, she found purpose for her pain by single handedly lobbying for a fertility fraud bill that passed the Texas House and Senate unanimously and exposed the dark side of the grossly unregulated fertility industry. Eve’s story, documented by ABC’s 20/20, thrust her into an advocacy role for donor conceived rights and women’s reproductive rights. As a licensed professional counselor, she is passionate about the mental health implications of genetic identity family secrets that commercial DNA testing is revealing. Tune in as Eve chats with Ellen and Jennifer about: -When and how she found out she was donor conceived (yes…this included snooping through her mother’s email ya’ll) -How the confrontation with her mother went after she found out she was donor conceived -Finding Steve, who she thought was her biological father and how she reached out to him -Their first meeting and how their relationship progressed — including her mom first meeting Steve! -What it was like meeting Steve’s “social children” and his wife -How she found her two half-brothers and how this ended up with her telling one of them he was donor-conceived -Finding out Steve was not indeed her biological father but rather her mother’s doctor was -The draft of the letter she wrote to her mother’s doctor that explained how he was her biological father and his smoke and mirrors response -What she did in response to this gigantic debacle — like helping to create a law to stop other doctors doing this in the future — yeah NBD -Her advice to other donor conceived offspring And don’t go away because we have a bonus episode. Steven Scholl is an independent scholar of Islam and comparative religion. He has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East after doing his graduate studies in Islamic philosophy and history at McGill University. Steve is the founding publisher of White Cloud Press and is the editor of several books including "The Peace Bible:  Words from the Great Traditions" and "Common Era: Best New Writings on Religion." He writes on religion and culture for newspapers and magazines and is a contributor to the "Encyclopedia of Religion" (ed. by Mircea Eliade). His new book is “Muhammad,” co-written with Sam Deeb. Steve, the person Eve believed was her father, chimes in with his side of the story and discusses: -How he got into sperm donation — it involved a poster on a pole — yep…a side hustle for pocket cash -Whether he thought through the ramifications of donating sperm — hint…nope -His thoughts 13 years later when he got the phone call from the sperm bank asking him to update his records and then the email that he got that Eve was looking for him -How his wife did a 180 regarding his relationship with Eve, his thought-to-be donor conceived daughter -How his children responded when they found out about Eve -His feelings when Eve called to say he wasn’t her dad after all -Whether he has a relationship with his other donor-conceived children Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com 
Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com
Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: trachmanlawfirm.com

Shelly is the Marketing Manager for Men Having Babies, helping hundreds of couples a year make their dreams of a family come true. She is part of a team that empowers and educates men on surrogacy, and before working for Men Having Babies, Shelly personally helped multiple families. Tune in as she shares with Ellen and Jennifer about: -How being a part of a mom’s group planted the idea of surrogacy. -Her first experience with an agency and their reaction when she said she wanted to work with a same-sex couple. -The first “date” errr….the match meeting over Skype with the couple whose profile she selected. -Their first in-person meeting — and her outfit dilemma. -The timing delay after losing 2 egg donors. -Her pregnancy experience — the vomiting…oh the vomiting. -The beautiful birthing experience. -The story of her second surrogacy journey. -Her scary experience with heavy bleeding while pregnant with her singleton 2nd surro baby. -The request from the surrogate parents from the 2nd journey for a baby sister. -The amazing work she does with Men Having Babies. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com
 Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com
 View the schedule of events for Men Having Babies here: menhavingbabies.com/surrogacy-seminars/

September is the Founder and CEO of 4 Months to Fertile, a fertility coach and mother of seven (yes, SEVEN) children. So…yeah, not busy AT ALL. September chats with Ellen and Jennifer about: -Being a mother of four and dealing with recurrent miscarriages—and what she did about it to then have three more kids. -How she completely changed her eating habits and lifestyle. -How much nutrition can affect fertility. -Her meetings, her app, her cookbook — all the resources she has available to help members stay motivated. -Her tips to getting started and staying on track with your nutrition journey. -The upcoming Colorado Fertility Conference (May 26, 2019) she is organizing, combining the best of Western and Eastern medicine—and the amazing giveaways that will be available! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: www.iwanttoputababyinyou.com
 Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: www.brightfuturesfamilies.com
 Learn more about September’s work and register for her fertility clinic: www.septemberburton.com 
Learn more about the Colorado Fertility Conference: https://www.coloradofertilityconference.com/ Fill out this form to tell Congress they should support legislation that results in access to affordable adoption, biological family building care, and fertility preservation services: https://zurl.co/ypH6

Trystan is the Director of Family Formation with the Family Equity Council. He and his spouse, Biff, grew their family in two different and incredible ways. Listen as Trystan talks about: -His transition journey. -The journey from not wanting children, to finding a partner and becoming a parent. -Their decision to grow their family further. -His desire to carry their child and how they made it happen. -The research and statistics around men having babies. -The myths around testosterone and infertility. -His experience through miscarriage and pregnancy. -His social and emotional experience as a man being pregnant. -His current position at the Family Equality Council and how he’s supporting other LGBTQ+ families. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com
 Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com
Learn more about the Family Equality Council: familyequality.org

Kim is the author of The Very Kind Koala and The Pea That Was Me series, amazing children’s books about surrogacy and donor-conception. She’s also written books about dealing with infertility and loss. She’s a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has a private practice in psychotherapy and also works at Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine (CCRM), one of Colorado’s most well-known fertility clinics. Kim talks with Jenn and Ellen about: -How her own experience inspired her to get more involved in the field of infertility. -How to share with your child if they are donor-conceived and the best way to direct that conversation. -Ideas on how surrogates can talk to their children about their journey—based on the children’s ages. -Resources available for dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com 
Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com
Learn more about Kim’s private practice: kimklugerbelllmft.com 
Learn more about CCRM: ccrmivf.com 
 Learn more about her books: booksfordonorkids.com

Sherman grew up in Ohio and enjoys a successful career as a chemical engineer. He and his husband longed to be parents. Unfortunately, they experienced more bumps in the road and more heartbreak than any hopeful parents should ever have to endure. Sherman is dedicated to giving back and is now the incoming chair for Men Having Babies, a non-profit dedicated to providing education and support to gay men wishing to become biological parents through surrogacy. Sherman chats with Ellen and Jenn about: -When he and his husband decided they wanted to have kids and how his Google search led to surrogacy and learning about the many, MANY moving parts and parties involved. -His recommendations on what questions you should ask an agency BEFORE starting your surrogacy journey. -Their surrogacy journey with twins — conflicts that arose and how their agency was missing in action for conflict resolution. -How they found out about their daughter’s delivery…through a post on Facebook! -He and his husband’s tragic losses and the horrific details that followed. -Their attempt at 2 surrogates in tandem — and what the surrogates thought of this. -Surrogate attempts 4, 5, 6 and 7 (uh huh) independently. -The end result after all of the many surrogates, the happy tears and the sad tears. -What the Men Having Baby organization is and how he got involved. Really involved. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com 
Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com
Learn more about Men Having Babies: menhavingbabies.org

Tim is a St. Louis-based attorney with over 35 years’ experience. After spending much of his career doing traditional family law (divorce and custody), he stumbled upon Assisted Reproductive Technology Law and has become a renowned expert in the area. Listen as Tim chats about: -His unusual route to representing his first surrogacy client. -The story behind the famous McQueen v Gadberry embryo disposition case and how Tim stepped in. -What happens when a couple with cryopreserved embryos divorces -- and one wants to use the embryos for conception, one doesn’t, and the law says embryos are persons with protectable rights in life, health and well-being. Oh my. -What the US Constitution says about our fundamental rights to reproduce (or not reproduce!). -In what state an embryo can sue someone and someone can sue an embryo (yep, you read that right). -Whether an embryo is a human, property or something else, and what the law has to say about it. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com 
Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com
 Learn more about Tim’s law firm: pcblawfirm.com

Joyce is the Executive Director of the Alliance For Fertility Preservation, a non-profit organization focused on raising awareness and expanding access for cancer patients to fertility preservation information, resources and services. Tune in as Joyce discusses: -Her out-of-the-blue cancer diagnosis in her 20s after going to law school and starting her legal career at a firm in Seattle. -How feeling light headed on a trip to DC, and an unexpected emergency room visit, led to a cancer diagnosis 24 hours later. -When the talk of future fertility finally came up how she and her husband formulated a plan. -Their choice of embryo freezing and making the time for it between surgery and chemo. -The decision to turn to surrogacy. -The process of selecting a surrogate in California and the news of their twins! -How she handled juggling her own medical appointments, her surrogate’s medical appointment and, oh yeah, practicing law. -The turn of events that led to her career change from working for a firm to helping others preserve their fertility after a cancer diagnosis. -The misperceptions about fertility coverage and how insurance companies’ failure to cover infertility treatments can actually increase rates for everyone. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com
 Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com
Learn more about the Alliance For Fertility Preservation: allianceforfertilitypreservation.org

Kevin and his brothers were conceived via sperm donation. This past holiday Kevin took a home DNA test. The results were not what he expected – to say the least – and have led to many a sleepless night. Listen in as Kevin opens up about: -What he knew about his family and biological background before the test. -How he and his brothers first found out that their dad was not their biological father. -What it was like finding out his brothers were actually half-brothers — wait, what? -What led him to do a DNA test in the first place. -The surprising results of his DNA test and what reaching out to some unknown cousins led to. -The shocking discovery of who his biological father was and what the biological father’s relationship to Kevin’s mother was — you will NOT believe this. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com 
Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com