§ 581-102 — Definitions

§ 581-102. Definitions. (a) "Assisted reproduction" means a method of\ncausing pregnancy other than sexual intercourse and includes but is not\nlimited to:\n 1. intrauterine or vaginal insemination;\n 2. donation of gametes;\n 3. donation of embryos;\n 4. in vitro fertilization and transfer of embryos; and\n 5. intracytoplasmic sperm injection.\n (b) "Child" means a born individual of any age whose parentage may be\ndetermined under this act or other law.\n (c) "Compensation" means payment of any valuable consideration in\nexcess of reasonable medical and ancillary costs.\n (d) "Donor" means an individual who does not intend to be a parent who\nproduces gametes and provides them to another person, other than the\nindividual's spouse, for use in assisted reproduction. The term does not\ninclude a person who is a parent under part three of this article. Donor\nalso includes an individual who had dispositional control of an embryo\nor gametes who then transfers dispositional control and releases all\npresent and future parental and inheritance rights and obligations to a\nresulting child.\n (e) "Embryo" means a cell or group of cells containing a diploid\ncomplement of chromosomes or group of such cells, not a gamete or\ngametes, that has the potential to develop into a live born human being\nif transferred into the body of a person under conditions in which\ngestation may be reasonably expected to occur.\n (f) "Embryo transfer" means all medical and laboratory procedures that\nare necessary to effectuate the transfer of an embryo into the uterine\ncavity.\n (g) "Gamete" means a cell containing a haploid complement of DNA that\nhas the potential to form an embryo when combined with another gamete.\nSperm and eggs shall be considered gametes. A human gamete used or\nintended for reproduction may not contain nuclear DNA that has been\ndeliberately altered, or nuclear DNA from one human combined with the\ncytoplasm or cytoplasmic DNA of another human being.\n (h) "Health care practitioner" means an individual licensed or\ncertified under title eight of the education law, or a similar law of\nanother state or country, acting within his or her scope of practice.\n (i) "Independent escrow agent" means someone other than the parties to\na surrogacy agreement and their attorneys. An independent escrow agent\ncan, but need not, be a surrogacy program, provided such surrogacy\nprogram is owned by an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of\nNew York. If such independent escrow agent is not an attorney owned\nsurrogacy program, it shall be bonded and insured.\n (j) "In vitro fertilization" means the formation of a human embryo\noutside the human body for purposes of assisted reproduction.\n (k) "Intended parent" is an individual who manifests the intent to be\nlegally bound as the parent of a child resulting from assisted\nreproduction or a surrogacy agreement, provided the individual meets the\nrequirements of this article.\n (l) "Parent" as used in this article means an individual with a\nparent-child relationship created or recognized under this act or other\nlaw.\n (m) "Participant" is an individual who either provides a gamete that\nis used in assisted reproduction, is an intended parent, is a person\nacting as surrogate, or is the spouse of an intended parent or person\nacting as surrogate.\n (n) "Person acting as surrogate" means an adult person, not an\nintended parent, who enters into a surrogacy agreement to bear a child\nwho will be the legal child of the intended parent or parents so long as\nthe person acting as surrogate has not provided the egg used to conceive\nthe resulting child.\n (o) "Record" means information inscribed in a tangible medium or\nstored in an electronic or other medium that is retrievable in\nperceivable form.\n (p) "Retrieval" means the procurement of eggs or sperm from a gamete\nprovider.\n (q) "Spouse" means an individual married to another, or who has a\nlegal relationship entered into under the laws of the United States or\nof any state, local or foreign jurisdiction, which is substantially\nequivalent to a marriage, including a civil union or domestic\npartnership.\n (r) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of\nColumbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any\nterritory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the\nUnited States.\n (s) "Surrogacy agreement" means an agreement between at least one\nintended parent and a person acting as surrogate intended to result in a\nlive birth where the child will be the legal child of the intended\nparent or parents.\n (t) "Transfer" means the placement of an embryo or gametes into the\nbody of a person with the intent to achieve pregnancy and live birth.\n