29 May, 2014

Alien Baby: Is Your Zygote American Enough? - Pacific Standard: The Science of Society

Alien Baby: Is Your Zygote American Enough? - Pacific Standard: The Science of Society: Millions of U.S. citizens live abroad. In 2012, the State Department registered 64,991 American babies born overseas. Consular and embassy officials looked to the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual for guidance when it came to granting those kids citizenship. The manual draws its strength from Section 301 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952—which says that a child must be “born of” a U.S. citizen—and guides officials to be sure that the parent who is the citizen has “spent enough time in the United States to absorb American customs and values.” The thinking is that these, in turn, would be transmitted to the child. The State Department has historically interpreted “born of” to mean a genetic connection.



In Montreal, no official asked if my daughter came from my own egg because for heterosexual couples a genetic connection is usually presumed. That doesn’t hold true for same-sex couples.



Laura Fielden’s daughter was denied U.S. citizenship because the child
didn’t have a genetic or gestational connection to her American parent.