BILL AS INTRODUCED H.98
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VT LEG #379118 v.1
H.98 1
Introduced by Representatives Rachelson of Burlington, Arsenault of 2
Williston, Christie of Hartford, Goodnow of Brattleboro, 3
Headrick of Burlington, and LaLonde of South Burlington 4
Referred to Committee on 5
Date: 6
Subject: Adoption; confirmatory adoption 7
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish an 8
expedited confirmatory adoption process for parents who conceived a child 9
through assisted reproduction and are parents under State law. 10
11
An act relating to confirmatory adoptions 12
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 13
Sec. 1. 15A V.S.A. § 1-114 is added to read: 14
§ 1-114. CONFIRMATORY ADOPTION FOR CHILDREN BORN 15
THROUGH ASSISTED REPRODUCTION 16
(a) As used in this section: 17
(1) “Assisted reproduction” means a method of causing pregnancy other 18
than sexual intercourse and includes: 19
(A) intrauterine, intracervical, or vaginal insemination; 20
(B) donation of gametes; 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.98
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(C) donation of embryos; 1
(D) in vitro fertilization and transfer of embryos; and 2
(E) intracytoplasmic sperm injection. 3
(2) “Marriage” includes civil union and any legal relationship that 4
provides substantially the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as 5
marriage and is recognized as valid in the state or jurisdiction in which it was 6
entered. 7
(3) “Petitioners” means the persons filing a petition for adoption in 8
accordance with this section. 9
(b) Whenever a child is born as a result of assisted reproduction and the 10
person or persons who did not give birth are a parent pursuant to 15C V.S.A. 11
§ 703 or presumed parent pursuant to 15C V.S.A. § 401 and the parents seek to 12
file a petition to confirm parentage through an adoption of the child, the court 13
shall permit the parents to file a petition for adoption in accordance with this 14
section. 15
(c) A complete petition shall comprise the following: 16
(1) the petition for adoption signed by all parties; 17
(2) a copy of the petitioners’ marriage certificate, if petitioners are 18
married; 19
(3) a declaration signed by the person who gave birth and the person 20
who did not give birth explaining the circumstances of the child’s birth through 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.98
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assisted reproduction, attesting to their consent to assisted reproduction, and 1
attesting that no competing claims of parentage exist; and 2
(4) a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate. 3
(d) A complete petition for adoption, as described in subsection (c) of this 4
section, shall serve as the petitioners’ written consents to adoption and no 5
additional consent or notice shall be required. 6
(e) If the petitioners conceived through assisted reproduction with donor 7
gametes or donor embryos pursuant to 15C V.S.A. chapter 7, the court shall 8
not require notice of the adoption to the donor or consent to the adoption by the 9
donor. 10
(f) Unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause shown and 11
supported by written findings of the court demonstrating good cause, for 12
purposes of evaluating and granting a petition for adoption pursuant to this 13
section, the court shall not require: 14
(1) an in-person hearing or appearance; 15
(2) an investigation or home study by, a notice to, or the approval of the 16
Department for Children and Families; 17
(3) a criminal-record check; 18
(4) verification that the child is not registered with the federal register 19
for missing children or the central register; or 20
(5) a minimum residency period in the home of the petitioners. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.98
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(g) The court shall grant the adoption under this section and issue an 1
adoption decree within 30 days upon finding that: 2
(1) for marital parents, the parent who gave birth and the spouse were 3
married at the time of the child’s birth and the child was born through assisted 4
reproduction; or 5
(2) for nonmarital parents: 6
(A) the person who gave birth and the nonmarital parent consented to 7
the assisted reproduction; and 8
(B) there are no competing claims of parentage or that any other 9
person with a claim to parentage of the child who is required to be provided 10
notice of, or who must consent to, the adoption has been notified or provided 11
consent to the adoption. 12
(h) A petition to adopt a child pursuant to this section shall not be denied 13
on the basis that any of the petitioners’ parentage is already presumed or 14
legally recognized in Vermont. 15
(i) When parentage is presumed or legally recognized pursuant to 16
15C V.S.A. § 201, the fact that the parties did not petition for adoption 17
pursuant to this section shall not be considered as evidence when two or more 18
presumptions conflict, nor in determining the best interests of the child. 19
Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE 20
This act shall take effect on September 1, 2025. 21