GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On a day meant to celebrate adoption in Kent County, one story stood apart as unique, but not necessarily for the right reasons.
At the Kent County 17th Circuit Court on Thursday morning, families gathered to finalize their adoptions. But because of an outdated Michigan law, Tammy and Jordan Myers were there to adopt their own biological children. Until Thursday, they weren’t recognized as the parents.
After a cancer diagnosis in 2015, doctors told Tammy it would be dangerous to carry children again. Wanting to grow their family nonetheless, the Myers’ turned to a surrogate, Lauren Vermilye and her husband Jonathan.
But Michigan doesn’t always recognize biological parents as the legal moms and dads of kids born to surrogates, and the Myers got no help from the court for nearly two years. The birth certificate, until today, listed the Vermilyes as the parents of twins Eames and Ellison.
“It kind of sucked the joy out of it for a while,” said Tammy. “It didn’t allow us to feel the elation that we should’ve felt so it’s almost like we’ve been stuck in this purgatory for the last 23 months.”
At no point during the pregnancy or after the birth did the Vermilyes dispute that the Myers are – and should be – recognized as the twin’s parents, but the law prevented it.
“The problem with the law is that there’s no process to make that happen prior to the birth,” said Melissa Neckers, the Myers’ attorney. “To finally have them listed as the legal parents is enormous, but it’s also frustrating that we had to get to this point.”
On Thursday, while dozens of other parents finalized their adoptions, the Myers’ did the same but had to have a judge terminate the parental rights of the Vermilyes. It was a final step in a long and strange journey for the Myers family – a saga they’re glad has finally come to an end.
“It’s overwhelming, it just feels great,” said Tammy. “It’s been almost two years in the making, I don’t think it’s hit me yet.”
Now that their adoption is finalized, the Myers have turned their attention to updating the state’s surrogacy laws to prevent something similar from happening to another family. They’ve sought the help of state legislators and there are currently a handful of pending bills that would fix the same issue that led to the Myers’ troubles.
“Adoption wasn’t set up for this type of situation, it was set up for kids who don’t have parents, or their parents can’t take care of them,” said Neckers. “This is a band-aid. We need to change the law.”
