742.16 Expedited affirmation of parental status
for gestational surrogacy. ---
(1) Within 3 days after the birth of a child delivered of a
gestational surrogate, the commissioning couple shall petition a court of
competent jurisdiction for an expedited affirmation of parental
status.
(2) After the petition is filed, the court shall fix a time and
place for hearing the petition, which may be immediately after the filing of
the petition. Notice of hearing shall be given as prescribed by the rules of
civil procedure, and service of process shall be made as specified by law for
civil actions.
(3) Upon a showing by the commissioning couple or the child or
the gestational surrogate that privacy rights may be endangered, the court may
order the names of the commissioning couple or the child or the gestational
surrogate, or any combination thereof, to be deleted from the notice of
hearing and from the copy of the petition attached thereto, provided the
substantive rights of any person will not thereby be affected.
(4) Notice of the hearing shall be given by the commissioning
couple to:
(a) The gestational surrogate.
(b) The treating physician of the assisted reproductive technology
program.
(c) Any party claiming paternity.
(5) All hearings held in proceedings under this section shall be
held in closed court without admittance of any person other than essential
officers of the court, the parties, witnesses, and any persons who have
received notice of the hearing.
(6) The commissioning couple or their legal representative shall
appear at the hearing on the petition. At the conclusion of the hearing,
after the court has determined that a binding and enforceable gestational
surrogacy contract has been executed pursuant to s. 742.15 and that at least
one member of the commissioning couple is the genetic parent of the child, the
court shall enter an order stating that the commissioning couple are the legal
parents of the child.
(7) When at least one member of the commissioning couple is the
genetic parent of the child, the commissioning couple shall be presumed to be
the natural parents of the child.
(8) Within 30 days after entry of the order, the clerk of the
court shall prepare a certified statement of the order for the state registrar
of vital statistics on a form provided by the registrar. The court shall
thereupon enter an order requiring the Department of Health and Rehabilitative
Services to issue a new birth certificate naming the commissioning couple as
parents and requiring the department to seal the original birth
certificate.
(9) All papers and records pertaining to the affirmation of
parental status, including the original birth certificate, are confidential
and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and subject to inspection only
upon order of the court. This exemption is subject to the Open Government
Sunset Review Act in accordance with [Footnote 1] s. 119.14. The court
files, records, and papers shall be indexed only in the name of the
petitioner, and the name of the child shall not be noted on any docket, index,
or other record outside the court file.
History: s. 2, ch. 93-237.
[Footnote 1] Note.
A. Repealed by s. 1, ch. 95-217.
B. Section 4, ch. 95-217, provides that "notwithstanding
any provision of law to the contrary, exemptions from chapter 119, Florida
Statutes, or chapter 286, Florida Statutes, which are prescribed by law and
are specifically made subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in
accordance with section 119.14, Florida Statutes, are not subject to review
under that act, and are not abrogated by the operation of that act, after
October 1, 1995."
