It was a day of learning this week for Attorney Shon Cook that brought her back to us this week for our Saturdays with Shon segment. Shon is the kind of attorney who's value in advancing her education ahead of the curve is paramount and knowing what's coming before it gets here is the kind of service she values compared to an attorney who's learning as they go. This week too, it's a topic that would have just seemed unimaginable years ago, but as society keeps moving forward as the speed of light, sometimes it takes the legal world time to catch up a little and that goes even more in Michigan where things are thankfully a little more simple in than the big metropolitan areas.
This week, Shon learned about embryonic laws. It's been 50 years since the world welcomed the first "test tube baby". Since then, we've seen the proliferation of procreation become to the point of the traditional mom -> dad-> baby, idea still be the most popular way of making a family, however it's not the only way. There are banks for both sperm donors and egg donors. You have the options in some to pick out traits and qualities in those who have donated. It could be used to help in infertility, maybe a child for single parents, maybe a family for the LGBTQ community. We've even gotten to the point where engineering of those alternative parenting options are becoming optional but that is a discussion for another day. We're not here to get into the morality of this particular issue even though it's top of mind for many at the moment. We're here to talk about what's happening now.
Shon learned that over a million embryos are currently held in suspended storage. Parents who might want to wait to have kids, parents who might want a back up plan. Options all presented. The question is what happens if things go south with the relationship outside of the creation in the lab? Who decides what's to come of the embryo that's been created? What if we're only to the point of frozen donations from individuals who agreed at one time that a child would be the best plan, but since....it's gone the wrong way and now they want nothing to do with the idea? All of this is the speeding ahead of technology without the ability to think through what happens in the worst case scenario in a relationship. It's a brewing problem that's only going to get louder as we go forward. There's not a lot of direct advice outside of making sure there's a clearly written contract with you and a partner now if you intend to utilize this kind of method to begin a family, but there is an awful lot of food for thought. Take a listen.
While it's not exactly the kind of advice you can pocket for personal benefit right now, to know that there's an attorney like Shon who's looking 10 miles down the road into what's to come is an awesome asset to have in town. This is part of a thought that's emerging more and more about being pro-active instead of reactive in light of all we've seen and been through and had to instantly react to over the last couple years. If nothing else comes of all we've endured, maybe the lesson is that we should all spend more time being aware and prepared than scrambling to see what happens when. Shon is leading the way for all of us in that when it comes to the legal world.
