Reflections on the Beasley Case

Along these lines - make sure everything is IN the contract. Part of the Beasley case centers around the timing of a Selective Reduction (aborting one of the fetuses in a multiple pregnancy - it's actually very rare to find someone reducing from twins to a singleton, though higher reductions are more common): she insists they had a verbal agreement to reduce only before 12 weeks and that the Intended Parents didn't make a decision to reduce until 13 weeks. The specifics aren't so much the important part here as the central issue: a verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on. If something comes up after the initial contract has been signed, add an addendum. This isn't so much for the legal protection as to get everyone's mind focused on what was agreed on - so there can be no dispute 4 months later that someone misheard some important detail.

The final lesson I'll mention from this case is remember how much does not make the evening news. Thousands of children go to school and never see someone with a gun. Planes take off and land safely and terrorist-free all the time. Millions of rush hour commuters make it to and from work every day without being involved in a fatal accident. And many, many surrogacies go through without a hitch. But you won't see any of these things on the news.

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