Surrogacy

Surrogate motherhood has become one of the most difficult problems in modern family law. The term surrogate mother was first used in connection with in vitro fertilization in the late 1970s. The newest use refers to the introduction, by artificial insemination, of the sperm of a man whose wife is infertile into a woman who has agreed, often by contract, to bear the child conceived as a result of the insemination and then relinquish it to the couple after birth.

One argument against surrogacy is that it is little more than formalized baby selling. The counter-argument is that surrogacy is not baby selling because the husband of the couple receiving the child is that child's biological father. Many state legislatures are considering bills that would either make surrogate parenting entirely illegal or strictly regulate it, for example, limiting or prohibiting the payment of fees to the surrogate or to intermediaries. Most would require psychological counseling for the prospective surrogate mother, legal representation for all parties, and court approval of the contract.

Render the following text into English:

Суррогатное материнство запрещено законом в Австрии, Германии, Норвегии, Швеции, Франции и некоторых штатах США. В Австралии, Великобритании, Дании, Израиле, Испании, Канаде, Нидерландах и, снова, в некоторых штатах Америки разрешено только некоммерческое суррогатное материнство: то есть, суррогатная мать не получает за свои услуги вознаграждения, запрещена реклама суррогатного материнства в любом виде. В большинстве штатов Америки, в ЮАР, а также в Грузии, Украине и, наконец, в Российской Федерации, суррогатное материнство на коммерческой основе законодательно разрешено. Российский Семейный кодекс гласит: приоритетное право решить судьбу ребенка имеет суррогатная мать. Права генетических родителей признаются только после отказа от него суррогатной матери.

Ballou

DEBATE

Give your own ideas on the following problem:

• Do we need surrogacy in the Russian society if there are so many orphans?

TASK 8. Study the information below and give your opinion on the problem of adoption.

Adoption

Adoption, procedure by which people legally assume the role of parents for a person who is not their biological child. Adopted children become full members of their adopted family and have the same legal status as biological children. Although the majority of people who adopt are married couples, many single people also adopt.

Many people seek to adopt when they discover that they cannot give birth to biological children. Others adopt children to add new members to a family that includes biological children. Many people adopt simply to give a home and family to children who might not otherwise have them. Likewise, children become available for adoption for a variety of reasons. Some children are orphans. Some biological parents make arrangements for their children to be adopted because they cannot care for them due to illness or personal problems. Other children are abandoned by their biological parents.

Adoption is a common practice throughout the world and throughout history. However, laws regulating adoption vary from country to country. People seeking to adopt in a country other than the one in which they live, a process known as international adoption, should familiarize themselves with the laws of that country. Similarly, although every U.S. state recognizes adoption, state laws regarding specific aspects of adoption vary. Some states recognize adoptions by two people of the same sex or adoptions by a man and woman who are not married to one another.

Many states also allow the adoption of adults. Adults are usually adopted to ensure that they will inherit the estate of their adoptive parents. Some states preserve the rights of an adopted adult to inherit from his or her biological parents after the adoption.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is adoption?

2. What are the reasons for adoption of children?

3. What are the reasons of adult adoption?

Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

cирота, дети, брошенные своими биологическими родителями, ознакомиться с законами, стремиться (пытаться) усыновить, наследовать имущество усыновителей, наследовать от биологических родителей после усыновления

Useful Words and Expressions for Speech Practice

protection from abuse, exploitation, neglect and trafficking – защита от дурного обращения, эксплуатации, невыполнений обязанностей в отношении ребенка и торговли verbal abuse – словесное оскорбление physical abuse – физическое насилие sexual abuse – сексуальное насилие involvement of a child in any sexual activity before the legally-recognized age of consent – вовлечение несовершеннолетнего в любое сексуальное действие Commercial sexual exploitation – сексуальная эксплуатация в коммерческих целях

child neglect – невыполнение обязанностей в отношении ребенка deliberate neglect – преднамеренное невыполнение обязанностей в отношении ребенка tackling the root causes – взяться за выяснение причин counseling - консультирование provision of temporary residential permits – обеспечение временным видом на жительство protection to testify in legal proceedings – защита при даче показаний Consent to exploitative practices – согласие быть подвергнутым эксплуатации

TASK 9. Study the text below, making sure you fully comprehend it. Where appropriate, consult English-Russian dictionaries and/or other reference & source books on law. Pay special attention to the words and word combinations in bold type.