Women’s Equality Day was established in 1971 via a joint resolution in Congress. August 26 was selected, because it commemorated the 19th Amendment passing on August 26, 1920. The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. It’s hard to believe that women have only been allowed to vote in the United States for under 100 years! Women’s Equality Day does not just celebrate our right to vote. It also is a day to reflect on the efforts to achieve full equality for women in the United States — economically, socially, and legally. It is a day to remind ourselves how far we have come, but also how far we must still go. The women and men who fought for Women’s Suffrage worked tirelessly for decades, so that women would have the right to vote in the United States. We should honor them every election by casting a ballot for the candidates of our choosing — because we can.

Jimmy Fallon, with his daughter, Winnie. Photo credit: Doug Meszler/Splash News.

Last week, Late Night Talk Show Host Jimmy Fallon announced that his daughter, who was born this past July, was born via a gestational surrogate. Fallon spoke to NBC’s Today Show about his wife’s and his infertility struggles. After trying many different fertility treatments, they decided to use a gestational surrogate, according to his interview. Other celebrities, such as Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Bill and Guiliana Rancic, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Ricky Martin, and Neil Patrick Harris have also welcomed their children into the world using a gestational surrogate. But surrogacy is not just an option for the rich and famous. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, in 2004, 738 babies were born via gestational surrogate. In 2011, that number grew to 1,593. While surrogacy is by no means an inexpensive option, it is still a viable option for many couple — famous or not — who are looking to complete their families. It’s helpful that some celebrities are open about their use of a surrogate, so that this option is given attention in the mainstream media, and intended parents can learn more about it.

Many people are very curious about surrogacy. More particularly, why a woman would choose to serve as a surrogate. The process and emotions she undergoes is sometimes seen as a great mystery to outsiders looking in. If you are Intended Parents curious about surrogates, a woman considering serving as a surrogate, or if you are neither, but really interested, then the “My Life as a Stork” blog is worth a read. Click here to check it out.

Actor Jason Patric has been involved in a custody battle with a former girlfriend, to whom

Jason Patric. Photo rights: Jonathan Leibson/GETTY

he donated his sperm in 2009. The dispute is a typical “he said, she said,” because they did not enter into a sperm donor agreement when the actor donated his sperm through a medical procedure. The former girlfriend, Danielle Schreiber, says that the sperm donation was simply that: a donation. It is her position that his donation was conditioned up the fact that he would not be a father to the child, and it would never be publicly known that he donated. Patric disputes this account, and wants partial custody of the child, now 3. California law does not recognize a sperm donor as a father if the donation occurred through a doctor or a sperm bank and the donor is not the woman’s husband, unless the parties had an agreement in place. There was no agreement outlining the intent of the parties. Such an agreement would have likely prevented a dispute because the parties’ intent and expectations would have been fully outlined in the contract. This tabloid story reemphasizes how critical it is to have a Sperm Donor Agreement in place, even if your donor is known to you as friend, acquaintance, or even paramour.

Now, California State Senator Jerry Hill is introducing a bill that would grant broader rights to sperm donors. Such legislation, if passed, could open up a Pandora’s Box of litigation in California, which has more fertility clinics than any other state. To read more about the legislation and Patric’s custody battle, click here.