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American Contract Law for a Global Age, 2017a

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Questions <strong>for</strong> Discussion<br />

1. This Surrogate Parenting Agreement certainly looks like a contract. Is<br />

it? Is there any difference between an “agreement” and a “contract”?<br />

2. This agreement includes three specific people as parties. Why these<br />

three? Why is Richard Whitehead here, but not William Stern’s wife (who is<br />

referenced, but never by name)? You might want to look at paragraph 2 as you think<br />

about this question.<br />

3. Re-read the words of agreement paragraph. What does this<br />

paragraph state that one or more of the parties might argue about later?<br />

4. You may somewhere have heard the phrase freedom of contract, an<br />

important concept in <strong>American</strong> law. But should Mary Beth Whitehead be free to agree<br />

to terms like those in paragraph 1? More importantly, should the law en<strong>for</strong>ce what<br />

she agreed to here?<br />

5. Consider paragraph 3. Does it matter that the parties specify artificial<br />

insemination? After all, it might be easier and cheaper to take care of this matter the<br />

“natural” way. Can you think of any reasons why this term might affect the legal<br />

en<strong>for</strong>ceability of the agreement?<br />

6. Why exactly does the phrase “best interests of the child” keep<br />

showing up in this document? Is someone intended to read that phrase and be affected<br />

by it?<br />

7. The header to paragraph 4 states that the payment to Mary Beth<br />

Whitehead is not “to be construed as a fee <strong>for</strong> termination of parental rights or a<br />

payment in exchange <strong>for</strong> a consent to surrender the child <strong>for</strong> adoption.” Who exactly<br />

isn’t supposed to be construing it that way? And what would happen if that person<br />

(or persons) did construe it that way?<br />

8. Imagine that the price term in paragraph 4(A) was one dollar. Should<br />

that affect the en<strong>for</strong>ceability of this agreement? How about if the term were $1<br />

million? Should the parties be free to bargain <strong>for</strong> any price term?<br />

9. In the top part of paragraph 4(C), the parties use the term,<br />

“expenses…pursuant to her pregnancy.” The parties then elaborate further on these<br />

expenses in the four subparagraphs that follow. Isn’t “expenses…pursuant to her<br />

pregnancy” specific enough? Read through the various items in this four-paragraph<br />

list and try to determine why those terms made it into the contract. Who benefits or<br />

is protected by each term in this list?<br />

______________________________________________________________________________<br />

UNIT 1: THINKING LIKE A TRANSACTIONAL LAWYER 11

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