MacNeil v. Berryhill

Judge Lynch concurs in the judgment and in the opinion of the Court and files a separate concurring opinion.

Debra Ann Livingston, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant Sharon MacNeil (“MacNeil”) conceived twins via in vitro fertilization eleven years after her husband, the donor spouse, died. After the children — A.T.M. and C.E.M. — were born, MacNeil filed applications for child’s survivors’ benefits, based on her husband’s earnings history, with the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). As relevant here, the SSA has interpreted the governing statute — in an interpretation upheld by the…