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In re C.K.G.10/6/2005
I. Factual and Procedural Background
Dr. Charles K. G. and Ms. Cindy C. first met in 1993 while working at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Cindy was a nurse practitioner who managed a department through which Charles, then a medical resident, rotated. Charles and Cindy began dating in 1994. After an initial period of closeness, they maintained for several years an unsteady dating relationship which included an extended period of estrangement.
In 1999, Charles and Cindy not only reunited as an unmarried couple but also soon thereafter began discussing having a child together. By this time Cindy was forty-five years old and Charles was also in his mid-forties. Charles had never had children. He had not grown up in Tennessee, and a December 1999 visit to his birthplace influenced him; he wanted to be a father. Even though Cindy had at least two adult children from prior marriages as well as grandchildren, she was amenable to starting a family with Charles. However, given her age, Cindy was concerned about the viability of her ova, or eggs.
Having decided to have a child, Charles and Cindy pursued in vitro fertilization through the Nashville Fertility Center. On May 2, 2000, they jointly executed several agreements with the Fertility Center. Although Charles and Cindy were unmarried, they did not alter the boilerplate language that the Center frequently used in its agreements describing them as "husband" and "wife." Included among these agreements was a "RECIPIENT CONSENT FOR DONATION OF OOCYTES BY ANONYMOUS DONOR" ("Recipient Consent") which describes the fertilization procedure and its risks, waives the right of Charles and Cindy to know the egg donor's identity, and outlines the responsibilities of the parties to the agreement. The Recipient Consent further provides as follows:
I, Cindy (wife), understand that the child(ren) conceived by this method will not have my genetic material, but will have that of the oocyte donor and my husband . However, regardless of the outcome, I will be the mother of any child(ren) born to me as a result of egg donation and hereby accept all the legal responsibilities required of such a parent.
This document was signed by Cindy as "wife" and by Charles as "husband" and was witnessed and signed by a physician who represented that he had fully explained the procedure to Charles and Cindy and had answered all their questions. However, Charles and Cindy executed no other agreements concerning their intentions as to parentage or surrogacy.
Shortly thereafter, Charles paid the Fertility Center $10,000 for the procedure of having two anonymously donated eggs fertilized with Charles's sperm and inserted in Cindy's uterus. Charles intended for them to conceive only one child (presumably two eggs were used to increase the procedure's odds of success). After fertilization, one of the eggs divided, resulting in the development of three embryos. All three embryos flourished; Cindy had become pregnant with triplets.
During Cindy's pregnancy, Charles began residing consistently at Cindy's home. Due to complications with the pregnancy, Cindy took an early leave from her job . When she was placed on bed rest, Charles maintained the household and cooked for her. On February 21, 2001, Cindy gave birth via caesarian section to three children: C.K.G., C.A.G., and C.L.G. Tennessee Department of Health birth certificates for the children identify Charles as the father and Cindy as the mother.
Although Charles had never promised to marry Cindy, he represented that he desired permanence and stability with her. Further, Cindy understood and expected that they would raise the c
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