SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 3528
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MAY 30, 2019
The Senate Judiciary Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3528.
This bill provides a process by which couples, in which only one marital spouse or partner in civil union is the natural parent or treated under State law as the legal parent of a child (1) who was conceived through the use of assisted reproduction, and (2) born during the civil union or marriage, can seek an expedited judgement of adoption from the court for the other spouse or partner, in lieu of pursuing a standard adoption to establish that spouse’s or partner’s parentage. This judgement of adoption would specifically confirm the parental rights of the other spouse or partner who may not be genetically related to the child.
Concerning the bill’s requirement that the child be conceived by assisted reproduction, the bill defines the term as any medical procedure to facilitate human reproduction that involves human gametes or pre-embryos, including, but not limited to artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, embryo transfers and similar procedures. Notably, the term would not include the use of assisted reproduction in connection with a gestational carrier agreement pursuant to the “New Jersey Gestational Carrier Agreement Act,” P.L.2018, c.18 (C.9:17-60 et al.), as that act provides a separate means by which a party to such an agreement becomes the parent of a child born to a gestational carrier.
The bill provides that a couple may jointly file a complaint for a judgment of adoption with the Superior Court of the county where they reside or where one of the parties to the action resides. The complaint would include: proof of a valid civil union or marriage between the individuals issued prior to the birth of the child; an original birth certificate issued by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics on which both individuals are listed as parents of the child; and a written declaration signed by both individuals that describes in sufficient detail how the child was conceived, and identifies any other involved parties, so that the court may determine whether those individuals may have parental rights to the child.
If the court determines that the parental rights of any other individuals have been relinquished, it would issue, without the need for an appearance by the parties, a judgement of adoption, resulting in both current or former partners in civil union or current or former marital spouses now being recognized as the legal parents of the child. However, if the court determines that another individual may have parental rights to the child, the court would order a hearing on the matter, providing notice to all parties, before taking any action with respect to a judgement of adoption for the non-biologically-related spouse or partner.
Unlike as required under the standard adoption process, a home study or background check would not be needed before the court could proceed, pursuant to the process set forth in the bill, with issuing an order for a judgement of adoption.
The bill’s more abbreviated adoption process would give greater recognition to the intended parenthood of a non-biological same-sex marital spouse or civil union partner listed on a birth certificate, which is permitted as determined in the 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Pavan v. Smith, 137 S. Ct. 2075 (2017) (holding that states cannot treat married same-sex couples differently from opposite-sex couples where the issuance of birth certificates is concerned); however, this document alone cannot confer parental rights to the non-biological intended parent because it is only considered an administrative birth record. So while the non-biological spouse or partner may be named as a parent on a child’s birth certificate, such person is still, under current law, required to complete a lengthy, standard adoption to confirm legal parentage. This bill would provide a process through which these non-biological spouses and partners can more efficiently obtain a judgement of adoption that reflects that both spouses or partners are legal parents of a child.