Surrogacy is an important option for people who want to be parents but face limitations to doing so by natural means. In fact, surrogacy stands as the only option for an intended parent or parents who want to have some kind of generic connection to a child despite the fact the child wouldn’t be conceived naturally.
THE SURROGACY MEANING
The surrogacy meaning, per The Free Dictionary, is: “An agreement by a woman to undergo pregnancy so as to produce a child which will be surrendered to others. Fertilization may be by seminal fluid provided by the future adoptive father, or an ovum fertilized IN VITRO may be implanted in the surrogate mother.”
There are two types of commercial surrogacy: traditional and gestational. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate is the one who provides the egg cell with the sperm coming from the intended father or a donor. With this option, the intended mother would not have a genetic connection to the baby.
In Gestational surrogacy, the intended mother provides the egg cell, which is implanted in the surrogate’s womb by in vitro fertilization. Again, the sperm can come from the intended father or a donor. With this option, the intended mother would have a genetic connection to the child, making for the perfect surrogacy family if the intended father provided the sperm.
SURROGACY IN THE USA
Fortunately, commercial surrogacy is a widely accepted practice throughout most of the U.S. Unfortunately, there are a couple of states (see below) that have not yet lent their support to the commercial surrogacy process through a surrogacy agency.
It’s important to note that surrogacy in the USA is a complicated matter because of the fact surrogacy laws can vary greatly from one state to the next. Yes, nationally recognized organizations like The National Infertility Association do play an active role in setting general guidelines that are used throughout the country, but surrogacy laws are a matter of state’s rights.
If you are considering being a surrogate or contracting with a surrogate through a surrogacy agency, you need to read about the surrogacy laws in your state. If by chance your state has restrictive laws that would interfere with your ability to partake in the surrogacy process, you might have to seek such services in another state. While that might create an additional layer of inconvenience, it’s still better than no option at all.
To assist you, we want to lay out some information, by state, regarding each state’s position on commercial surrogacy. We’ll divide it up into the following three categories:
- Surrogacy-Friendly States with few if any restrictions
- Surrogacy-Friendly States with some restrictions
- Non-Surrogacy Friendly States
SURROGACY-FRIENDLY STATES WITH FEW IF ANY RESTRICTIONS
Surrogacy-friendly states are states that have laws and guidelines that are clearly favorable for anyone who wants to have a surrogacy family. These are states that don’t tend to discriminate based on the gender of the parents or whether or not the process will be carried out as a traditional or gestational surrogacy process. Also, these states tend to fully support surrogate pay or compensation for the surrogate mother.
The list of Surrogacy-Friendly States includes
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Maine
- New Hampshire
- Nevada
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Washington
SURROGACY-FRIENDLY STATES WITH SOME RESTRICTIONS
A majority of the states have pro-surrogacy laws on the books but generally support these processes with certain limitations. The fact is the laws regarding surrogacy in these states vary to the point of being complicated. For example, some of these states permit surrogate pay while others may only allow for certain reimbursements. If you live in one of these states, you have to really do your homework in order to understand the restrictions.
Let’s break this list up into two smaller lists. This is a list of Surrogacy-Friendly States with some restrictions:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- New Mexico
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
- West Virginia
This is a list of Surrogacy-Friendly States with a tendency toward more restrictions:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Wyoming
NON-SURROGACY FRIENDLY STATES
The bad news is there are two states that don’t recognize the surrogacy process with violations subject to fines and criminal charges. The good news is it’s only two states, that being Michigan and New York.
HOW MUCH DOES A SURROGATE COST?
If you are intending on participating in the surrogate process as either a surrogate to intended parents, it’s reasonable that your top concern would be the surrogate cost in USA.
As you might have guessed, the surrogate cost in USA will vary from one state to the next. It’s the responsibility of each surrogate agency to determine the cost of surrogate mother in the USA based on what the laws in each state and what the market can bear in each state.
The total cost of each process is typically predetermined through negotiations between the surrogate agency, the surrogate mother, and the intended parents. The final compensation amount is set in a contract that requires each party to perform per the terms of the contract.
Since the fee amounts and costs to be reimbursed can vary so much from one state to the next, we can only offer general guidelines. Agency fees can range between $15k and $25k. Based fees for the surrogate tend to range between $20k and $40K. Reimbursements can range from $20k to $30k.
For your edification, here is a list of extra fees and reimbursements that might be afforded to a surrogate:
- Monthly allowance for incidentals
- Maternity clothing allowance
- Wage reimbursement for time lost from work
- Reimbursement for travel expenses
- Fees for extra procedures
- Fee for multiple babies
- Fee for C-section birth
- Health and life insurance coverage during pregnancy
- Embryo transfer fee
For information related to how much does a surrogate cost at our Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia, you can contact our agency directly. At that time, we would also like the opportunity to tell you more about the surrogacy process and how it can make a positive impact on your life.
