DETROIT – Thousands of couples in Michigan have used artificial reproductive technology to conceive children despite Michigan being one of the few states with no laws to deal with advancements in science and technology.
Surrogacy is a felony in Michigan.
What happens to someone conceived by these means when their parents split up? A Metro Detroit same-sex couple is about to find out.
It's an issue for any couple who uses donors or surrogates or has children by artificial means outside of marriage.
"Now every day is stressful because I don't know whether next week I'm going to see my children again," said Jennifer Zunk, who has two children with her former partner.
Zunk and her former partner paid together for the sperm donors and, in one case, the egg donor. They were a couple before the Supreme Court decided the gay marriage issue.
The couple had a domestic partnership done in New York and a civil union performed in Vermont. They did what they could to make sure both children were protected, including making Jennifer their guardian.
Now Zunk's former partner wants to terminate her guardianship of the kids, who call both women 'mom.'
"Even though she says, 'I'll let you have the kids 50-50, people say things and things happen," said Dana Nessel.
Legally, Nessel has no protection.