The United States is one of the most progressive countries for surrogacy. Due to the laws surrounding Alternate Family Planning, IVF, and court cases setting a precedent of parental rights, it is by and large one of the easiest places to grow your family through surrogacy.
However, laws surrounding surrogacy vary state to state. Some states have surrogacy laws that enable and assist parents, some are simply tolerant of surrogacy, and some outlaw it altogether and do not recognize surrogacy contracts.
Surrogacy Friendly States
When determining what makes a surrogacy-friendly state, we consider firm legislation that allows pre-birth orders of parental rights, the acceptance of altruistic and paid surrogacy, and other legal factors that allow the easiest surrogacy journey possible for everyone involved.
There are other states that accommodate surrogacy, but may have special conditions that need to be met before a pre- or post- birth order is issued. These states have pretty clear hoops to jump through prior to and after the birth of the child, but the process is not as clearly lined up as in surrogacy-friendly states.
Having a child through surrogacy in any of these states is legal and very possible! As an agency located in Texas, we know about any hoops that Intended Parents need to jump through to have a successful surrogacy journey, and can help you navigate the laws of the state where your surrogate will give birth to ensure your parental rights.
Surrogacy Unfriendly States
Like the states in the above section, there are some gray area states that instead of having legislature surrounding surrogacy that adds an extra hoop to jump through, they have policies that make it more difficult for a surrogacy journey to be completed. While these policies do not prevent people from having children by surrogate in these states, they could lead to potential legal trouble down the road.
In the United States, there are very few places where you cannot undertake a surrogacy journey at all. Only three states in the union hold surrogacy prohibitory laws that nullify surrogacy contracts and do not recognize their statutes.
These states are:
If you have any questions regarding the legality of surrogacy in your state or the details of the surrogacy process, please reach out to us here.
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