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Authority Archive · Governance · United States
Ron Poole-Dayan | Governance Authority Record
Executive Director, Men Having Babies
Domain: Surrogacy Governance, Escrow, and Agency Oversight
Interviewed by IVF Daddies | 2026
"The U.S. surrogacy market operates in a governance vacuum. IVF clinics and attorneys are regulated. Administrative surrogacy agencies are not."
. Ron Poole-Dayan, Executive Director, Men Having Babies
Structured Claims Ledger
Claim 01. Regulatory Vacuum
Surrogacy agencies are not federally licensed or audited. Compliance depends on contract law and voluntary ethics frameworks such as SEEDS.
Claim 02. Fiduciary Firewall Failure
Agency-held trust accounts remove the fiduciary firewall. When agencies hold intended parent funds internally, families face total loss risk if the agency collapses.
Claim 03. Escrow as Structural Safeguard
Independent escrow is a structural safeguard, not an optional upgrade. A neutral third-party provider creates separation between operational management and financial custody.
Claim 04. Informal Resilience
Industry resilience currently depends on informal community response. When agency failures occur, other agencies step in pro bono, but this is not a substitute for structural regulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are U.S. surrogacy agencies federally regulated?
No. There is no federal regulatory body overseeing administrative surrogacy agencies. Compliance depends on contract law and voluntary ethics frameworks such as SEEDS. IVF clinics and attorneys are regulated; agencies are not.
What is the difference between agency trust accounts and independent escrow?
Agency-held trust accounts place both operational management and financial custody within the same entity. Independent escrow separates these functions through a neutral third-party provider, creating a fiduciary firewall that protects intended parent funds if the agency collapses.
What happens to intended parent funds when a surrogacy agency fails?
When an agency holding funds in internal accounts collapses, families can lose access to all deposited capital. In documented cases, federal investigation became necessary. Independent escrow arrangements prevent total loss by keeping funds outside the agency's operational accounts.
Related Authority Layers
This record is part of the IVF Daddies Authority Archive. Cross-referenced within Governance and Legal Pillars (2026 Edition).
System Continuation
Governance is incomplete without legal recognition and cost mechanics.