Opinion ID: 1058201
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Gestation

Text: Cindy became pregnant and gave birth to the children with the intent of raising them as her own. As mentioned above, historically gestation proved genetic parentage beyond doubt and thus was conclusive of maternity. See Roosevelt, 39 Santa Clara L.Rev. at 97; see also Malina Coleman, Gestation, Intent, and the Seed: Defining Motherhood in the Era of Assisted Human Reproduction 17 Cardozo L.Rev. 497, 501 (1996) (When the two functions of genetic contribution and gestation were inextricably bound, the issue of legal motherhood at birth was not disputable. The ancient maxim, mater est quam gestation demonstrat (by gestation the mother is demonstrated), unqualifiedly applied to all births.). The common law thus has presumed that the birth mother is the legal mother of the child. See Coleman, 17 Cardozo L.Rev. at 524. It is only quite recently that modern technology has made it possible to separate and to distribute among multiple persons or environments the genetic and gestational roles. We consider gestation as another important factor in determining legal maternity in this case. To be sure, as discussed above, genetics remains an irreplaceable component of human reproduction, and as such genetic consanguinity is and should be particularly important to parentage determinations. And as our analysis above has shown, Tennessee's domestic relations statutes expressly account for genetics in parentage determinations. See Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 36-1-102(10), § 36-2-302(4). However, as our analysis above has also shown, Tennessee's parentage and related statutes were simply not designed to control the circumstances of this case. To restrict legal maternity to genetic consanguinity alone where, as in this case, the genetic mother is an egg donor who has waived her parental rights and who has been and remains permanently anonymous would result in the absurdity of children having, for all practical purposes, no legal mother. A child's knowledge that he or she has an anonymous and inaccessible mother somewhere in the world would provide only cold comfort, and demanding such a result in cases like this one could hardly promote the best interests of children. Courts must presume that the Legislature did not intend an absurdity and adopt, if possible, a reasonable construction which provides for a harmonious operation of the laws. Fletcher, 951 S.W.2d at 382 (citing Cronin v. Howe, 906 S.W.2d 910, 912 (Tenn.1995) and Epstein v. State, 211 Tenn. 633, 366 S.W.2d 914 (1963)). We further observe that in this case the genetic mother has donated her eggs to another and has correspondingly waived her parental rights, thereby relinquishing her status as legal mother. As Belsito correctly concludes, a genetic test cannot be the only basis for determining who will assume the status of legal parent. 644 N.E.2d at 767. Although giving birth is conspicuously absent from Tennessee's parentage statutes, as discussed above, there is no indication that the General Assembly sought to exclude it as a basis for legal maternity or even sought to decide questions of maternity at all. In this regard, the artificial insemination statute is once again significant. In addition to recognizing paternity where artificial insemination is involved, Tennessee Code Annotated section 68-3-306 confers parental status on a wife when she gives birth to a child as the result of artificial insemination. This statute displays a policy which favors recognizing gestation and giving birth as a basis for legal maternity. Accordingly, we conclude that sound policy and common sense favor recognizing gestation as an important factor for establishing legal maternity. Although current technology allows the separation between gestation and genetic contribution, it does not follow that gestation is now a less important part of parenthood. Coleman, 17 Cardozo L.Rev. at 517. In our view, the dissent accords too little significance to gestation as a factor for deciding this controversy.