Surrogacy in the USA
Surrogacy and its attendant legal issues fall under state jurisdiction and the legal situation for surrogacy varies greatly from state to state. Some states have written legislation, while others have developed common law regimes for dealing with surrogacy issues. Some states facilitate surrogacy and surrogacy contracts, others simply refuse to enforce them, and some penalize commercial surrogacy. Surrogacy friendly states tend to enforce both commercial and altruistic surrogacy contracts and facilitate straightforward ways for the intended parents to be recognized as the child's legal parents. Some relatively surrogacy friendly states only offer support for married heterosexual couples. Generally, only gestational surrogacy is supported and traditional surrogacy finds little to no legal support.
States generally considered to be surrogacy friendly include California, Illinois, Arkansas, Maryland, and New Hampshire among others.
For legal purposes, key factors are where the contract is completed, where the surrogate mother resides, and where the birth takes place. Therefore, individuals living in a non-friendly state can still benefit from the policies of surrogacy friendly states by working with a surrogate who lives and will give birth in a friendly state.
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Alabama |
No direct laws. In one of the cases legal rights of intending parents have been recognized. |
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Alaska |
Law Silent |
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Arizona |
Prohibits all kinds of surrogacy-gestational, traditional and commercial |
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Arkansas |
Legal recognition to Surrogacy contracts. But no specifications for homosexual couples. |
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California |
Recognizes surrogacy agreements and state’s Uniform Parentage Act is used to solve cases. |
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Colorado |
No direct laws |
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Connecticut |
No laws but cases decided have been surrogacy supportive |
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Delaware |
Silent law and cases decided have been unfavorable |
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District of Columbia |
All types of surrogacy agreements are prohibited |
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Florida |
Allows both traditional and gestational surrogacy, but only to heterosexual couples. |
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Georgia |
No laws and no published cases pertaining to surrogacy |
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Hawaii |
No laws and no published cases pertaining to surrogacy |
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Idaho |
State laws silent. Case laws suggest acceptance of surrogacy for heterosexual couples. |
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Illinois |
Gestational surrogacy is allowed. Traditional surrogacy and surrogacy for same sex couples is not recognized. |
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Indiana |
All kinds of surrogacy agreements are unenforceable by law. |
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Iowa |
Implicit acceptance of surrogacy but no direct laws. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual singles and couples have not yet been considered. |
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Kansas |
Law Silent |
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Kentucky |
No direct laws. Supreme court case suggests acceptance of non-commercial surrogacy. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual singles and couples have not yet been considered. |
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Louisiana |
Paid traditional surrogacy agreements are void and other types of surrogacy agreements have not been recognized. |
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Maine |
No laws and no published cases pertaining to surrogacy. |
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Maryland |
No direct laws. Indirect laws suggest commercial surrogacy agreements as enforceable. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual singles and couples have not yet been considered. |
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Massachusetts |
Laws silent. Published cases have surrogacy supportive. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual singles and couples have not yet been considered. |
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Michigan |
All surrogacy agreements are prohibited. |
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Minnesota |
No laws and no published cases pertaining to surrogacy. But an unpublished case suggests that law would be favorable toward surrogacy. |
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Mississippi |
No laws and no published cases pertaining to surrogacy |
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Missouri |
No direct laws. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual singles and couples have not yet been considered. |
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Montana |
No laws and no published cases pertaining to surrogacy. |
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Nebraska |
Commercial surrogacy is prohibited. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual singles and couples have not yet been considered. |
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Nevada |
Law permits surrogacy to married couples. Nevada Domestic Partnership Act however implicitly legal enforceability of surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender couples. |
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New Hampshire |
Surrogacy agreements are allowed. But no clarity on issue of enforceability surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals. |
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New Jersey |
Allows altruistic surrogacy but surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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New Mexico |
Allows altruistic surrogacy but surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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New York |
All types of surrogacy agreements for all kind individuals are void and unenforceable. |
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North Carolina |
No direct laws. Other laws seem to accept altruistic surrogacy agreements. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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North Dakota |
Laws prohibit traditional surrogacy but gestational surrogacy is allowed. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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Ohio |
Undecided laws. Some court decisions indicate legal acceptance of surrogacy. |
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Oklahoma |
No direct laws. But opinion of an Attorney general indicates non-acceptance of commercial surrogacy and a favorable review of altruistic surrogacy with reasonable expenses to surrogate. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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Oregon |
Altruistic surrogacy is allowed. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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Pennsylvania |
Ambiguous laws. |
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Rhode Island |
No direct laws. But approval of some forms of surrogacy is suggestive from the laws. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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South Carolina |
No laws pertaining to surrogacy. Case law suggest acceptance of surrogacy contracts. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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South Dakota |
No laws and no published cases pertaining to surrogacy |
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Tennessee |
Law seems to give legal recognition to surrogacy agreements. Surrogacy is defined as when a surrogate bears a child for a married couple. So approval of surrogacy agreements for bisexual, homosexual and transgender individuals is ruled out. |
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Texas |
Law allows gestational surrogacy, but not to same sex couples. |
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Utah |
Law allows gestational surrogacy, but not to same sex couples. |
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Vermont |
A case indirectly suggests acceptance of surrogacy. The same case also suggests allowance of surrogacy to homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals and couples. |
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Virginia |
Altruistic surrogacy is allowed, but to heterosexual couples only. Homosexual couples are not allowed to enter surrogacy agreements. |
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Washington |
Commercial surrogacy is prohibited. Altruistic surrogacy is permitted and with payment of certain expenses to the surrogate. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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West Virginia |
No direct laws. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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Wisconsin |
No direct laws. A court decision has been supportive. Surrogacy agreements for homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals have not yet been considered. |
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Wyoming |
No laws and no published cases pertaining to surrogacy |