This episode of the AllPaths podcast features Bruce, an attorney in the Boston area. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Bruce and his husband built their family through surrogacy with gamete donation, going through the process twice with different surrogates in different states. After leaving his previous career to become a stay-at-home parent, his own family building experience and encouragement from his husband led him to law school and ultimately his solo practice Modern Family Law, which focuses exclusively on matters related to family formation through assisted procreation.
Our conversation delves into the emotional journey of family building, noting that gay men pursuing surrogacy often begin with optimism, contrasting with the skepticism or despair some heterosexual couples may experience after long struggles with infertility. Bruce also discusses his role as an advocate in Massachusetts, particularly his significant involvement in the coalition to pass the Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA), which was finally signed into law in 2024 after over eight years of effort. He explains that the MPA provides much-needed clarity on parentage for families created through modern methods like gamete donation, embryo donation, and surrogacy, moving beyond traditional definitions. The Act simplifies the process for intended parents to establish legal parentage and clearly states that donors are not parents, offering crucial protections and streamlining legal procedures.
Beyond his legal practice and advocacy work, Bruce also teaches at his alma mater, Northeastern University School of Law. There he helps shape the future of family law, a specialty that in his eyes goes beyond assisted procreation or family formation, to touch everyone and helps to shape people’s identities and relationships in the world.
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