All Families Surrogacy staff attended the Society for Ethics in Egg Donation & Surrogacy (SEEDS) conference April 7-8 in Costa Mesa, California. The annual conference, now in its fourth year, brings together professionals involved in third party reproduction from around the country. SEEDS is a non-profit organization who aims to promote ethical behavior in the emerging industry, and AFS is dedicated to participating in the surrogacy ethics conversation. “Standards and ethics are a critical part of surrogacy in the United States,” said Carey Flamer-Powell, AFS Founder & Director. “In order for surrogacy to continue to thrive in our country, we need to be sure that those participating in surrogacy – intended parents, surrogates, medical professionals, and agencies – all do so in an ethical manner.” The two-day conference covered topics such as current American legislation for egg donation and surrogacy, high-risk surrogacy states, how to support IPs and surrogates through the process, surrogacy compensation, and more. Angela Padilla, Surrogate Case Manager and former surrogate, said, “I’m so glad we were able to attend the conference. Surrogacy is constantly changing and this was a good occasion to talk about some of the current most important issues.”
While it was raining and cold in Portland, AFS staff took full advantage of the beautiful weather in California during their stay with a quick trip to Disneyland. “We just had to stop by Space Mountain!” exclaimed Tawni Boedecker, Surrogate Coordinator for AFS.
