Social Security Benefits Case Involving Assisted Reproductive Technology
Mar 12, 2014OUTCOME: Posthumously-Born Child Eligible for Benefits
Emily argued a precedent-setting case in front of a Social Security Administration (SSA) Judge. The decision established that a posthumously-born child, conceived after the death of the child's father, ... is eligible for child's benefits, and the child's mother is eligible for mother's benefits. The intestacy laws of the District of Columbia and the relevant statutes on parentage in effect prior to the D.C. Parentage Act of July 18, 2009, provided the basis of the decision. The legal standard is from the unanimous Supreme Court decision Astrue v. Capato which held that state law determines eligibility for SSA benefits for posthumously-conceived children. SSA had previously twice denied the mother's claim.
