New Yorkers who want to become parents through assisted reproduction (and those who want to help others do so) got a belated Valentine’s Day gift this year, as the state legalized surrogacy beginning February 15, 2021. In addition to lifting the outdated ban on gestational surrogacy, lawmakers also created a framework of insurance safeguards designed to protect intended parents and gestational carriers alike.

First, gestational carriers now have the right to life insurance coverage. If they request it, the intended parents are responsible for obtaining and paying for such coverage. In addition, the law stipulates that gestational carriers are entitled to comprehensive health insurance coverage at the intended parents’ expense. Such insurance coverage must include preventive care, pregnancy-related screenings, and maternity care.

Protection for intended parents was also part of the new law, which gives intended parents the right to purchase insurance designed to cover their financial losses in the event the gestational carrier fails to uphold her contractual obligations. Intended parents may also now purchase donor medical expense insurance coverage.

While New York lawmakers could have simply repealed the old law banning surrogacy, they took it a step further and established new rules with the health and welfare of New Yorkers in mind. With this New York legislative action, compensated surrogacy is now illegal in just three states: Nebraska, Louisiana, and Michigan. However, laws in other states vary widely; in some states, surrogacy contracts are unenforceable or there are other legal hurdles for intended parents.

At The Surrogacy Law Center in Carlsbad, we work to help protect clients’ rights related to egg, sperm, and embryo donation, and in surrogacy arrangements, keeping state and other jurisdictional laws at the forefront. To learn more and to speak with an assisted reproduction attorney, contact us today!