BUZZANCA'S FURTHER APPEAL DENIED; CASE CONTINUES TO RAISE NEW ISSUES

        John Buzzanca, the court ordered "father" of a two-year-old born to a gestational surrogate with donor gametes as a result of his and his then wife's decision, has failed in his effort to appeal the most recent court ruling in the case. After over two years of litigation, the California Appeals Court had ruled in March 1998, that John Buzzanca should be considered the child's father as a result of his intention and agreement to create the child. Reversing lower court rulings that the child had no legal parents and it therefore had no subject matter jurisdiction, the appellate court had ruled that entering into the agreement without which the child would not have been born was sufficient to deem John Buzzanca a parent and require him to pay child support. The state's highest court denied further review without comment, letting the Appeals Court decision stand.

        In yet another twist to what has already been a most unusual case, the genetic father of the child has also come forward. Reportedly, a Chicago-area lawyer has identified himself as the child's genetic father, as the result of donating "spare" embryos (created with his sperm and donor eggs) after he and his infertile wife completed their family. The couple had been patients at UC-Irvine and agreed to donate the embryos following their own successful treatment. It is not currently known whether the couple signed consent forms which included the potential donation to a gestational carrier.

(In Re Marriage of Buzzanca, petition for review denied. Sup.Ct.CA #5069696)