When the Michigan Family Protection Act (MFPA) was signed into law in 2024, it repealed the state’s ban on surrogacy and instituted a new regulatory framework related to surrogacy and other assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization. The MFPA follows the passage of a similar statute in New York state, the Child Parent Security Act (CPSA), which became law in 2021.
Alexis Cirel, ’03, a partner at Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP in New York City, spent years advocating for the CPSA and, more recently, supporting bill draft efforts for the MFPA. Her dedication to the issue—and her legal practice, which focuses on fertility, matrimony, and family law—is rooted in her own experience with infertility in the early 2010s. She has since welcomed two children through surrogacy.
The beginning of the ban
Although historical references to surrogacy date back thousands of years, the first legal surrogacy agreement wasn’t documented in the United States until the 1970s. But a highly publicized case in 1986 changed the course of fertility law across the country.
The case, known as In re Baby M, involved what is known as traditional, or genetic, surrogacy, when the surrogate is also the egg donor. The intended parents and the surrogate entered a contractual agreement that the surrogate would forfeit parental rights after the child was born. But the surrogate changed her mind and fought to keep the baby, and a legal battle ensued.
As a result, all forms of surrogacy—including gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate is not the egg donor—were banned outright in New Jersey, where the case occurred, as well as in New York, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Nebraska, and Michigan. Among those states, New York and Michigan were the last to reverse the ban.
Seeing from both sides
Cirel first pursued in vitro fertilization in 2010. When this avenue was unsuccessful, she turned to surrogacy. As a resident of New York, where surrogacy was still illegal, she had to look outside of her home state for reproductive care. Cross-jurisdictionally, Cirel successfully had two children through surrogacy. Still, her experience sparked a curiosity that led her toward a new career path.
“As a client, going through this process was fascinating. As an attorney, the woefully antiquated laws around parentage and children conceived from assisted reproductive technology did not sit well with me,” says Cirel. “I decided to move away from Big Law and pursue fertility, family, and matrimonial law professionally.”
Joining other change-makers
Cirel began her career at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP as a litigation associate. In 2014, she joined a boutique law firm and became part of a coalition of advocates and legislators aiming to reverse New York’s ban on surrogacy.
Throughout the following years, she held partner-level positions at Mayerson Abramowitz & Khan LLP and then Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP. During this time, she also began lobbying and working on proposed legislation.
Surrogacy was legalized in New York with the passage of the CPSA in 2021. In addition to legalizing gestational surrogacy, the law implemented a framework to regulate the relationship between intended parents and surrogates. Traditional surrogacy—when the surrogate is also the egg donor—remains illegal in New York today.
Shortly after the CPSA was passed, Cirel joined Warshaw Burstein LLP as a partner and helped found the firm’s fertility law group. Most recently, she returned to Schwartz Sladkus as a partner and started the firm’s fertility law practice.
Alexis Cirel, ’03As a client, going through this process was fascinating. As an attorney, the woefully antiquated laws around parentage and children conceived from assisted reproductive technology did not sit well with me.
Bringing the legal framework to Michigan
After the CPSA became law in New York, Cirel began focusing on the passage of a similar law in Michigan. The MFPA, a package of nine bills signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, was passed in early 2024. Cirel has since been admitted to practice in Michigan to support families who wish to enter into surrogacy arrangements.
Both bills encompass broader, more nuanced laws than surrogacy alone; they are also significant in reframing the way we think about the legal parentage of children conceived using assisted reproductive technology. This shift, Cirel says, involved updating outdated legislation that focused solely on genetic relationships, gestation, the marital presumption, and gender-based norms.
“It zooms out from all of that and focuses instead on issues of intent to be a parent and consent to the assisted reproduction undertaken to that end. By doing so, it extends the accessibility of family building to many more hopeful parents—single individuals, unmarried or same-sex couples, and others.”
The bills also establish legally recognized relationships prior to birth, making the orders effective immediately once the child is born. Additionally, the laws in New York and Michigan empower surrogates to make all health and welfare decisions that affect their body.
“When these laws were enforced, I offered myself as a legal resource to fertility clinics in both states,” she says. “It can be overwhelming, not just for patients and intended parents who have this new door opened but for healthcare providers, too. What was once deemed criminal is now available, so it can be tricky to navigate without legal guidance.”
Beyond the bills
Cirel’s practice also involves helping clients navigate the substantial costs of assisted reproductive technology.
“Financial access is a real problem,” she says. “Part of that stems from the lack of insurance coverage, not just for assisted reproductive technology but also for the ancillary costs, like agency and attorney fees. It becomes cost-prohibitive for many people.”
The definition of infertility by insurance companies has been based, historically, on heterosexual couples being unable to conceive after 12 months, which posed challenges for single individuals, unmarried or same sex couples, and others. Cirel continues to work with professional organizations, such as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, that seek to expand the definition of infertility and enable more individuals to be covered by insurance. She also volunteers her time as a board member for various nonprofit organizations in the space to raise funding for fertility treatment grants and awareness.
Additionally, Cirel counsels clients through embryo disputes, speaks at professional conferences, guest lectures at law schools, and appears on various media outlets as an authority on fertility and family law issues. Her written work has appeared in law and medical journals, including the American Bar Association’s Family Law Quarterly, the New York Law Journal, and the Fertility and Sterility Journal. Cirel is also one of approximately 200 attorneys in the country to be named an Assisted Reproductive Technologies Fellow of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys.
“I hope to encourage more discussion about this area of the law, especially at the law school level," she says, "because I’ve seen firsthand how life-changing it can be for families."
