In the U.S.A., every state in the nation has its own laws regarding surrogacy.\u00a0 In one state it may be legal, but cross another state line, and it may be a crime.<\/p>\n
Tamar Lewin\u2019s article in the New York Times, \u201cSurrogates and Couples Face a Maze of Laws, State by State,\u201d reviews a complicated topic.<\/p>\n
Lewin writes, \u201cWhile surrogacy is far more accepted in the United States than in most countries, and increasing rapidly (more than 2,000 babies will be born through it here this year), it remains, like abortion, a polarizing and charged issue. \u00a0She continues, \u201cThere is nothing resembling a national consensus on how to handle it and no federal law, leaving the states free to do as they wish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewin points out that there are a total of 17 states which legally allow surrogacy.\u00a0 But with that said, all those states don\u2019t follow the same protocol \u2013 each state is different with their views and restrictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 21 states, there is neither a law nor a published case regarding surrogacy, according to Diane Hinson, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who specializes in assisted reproduction. In five states, surrogacy contracts are void and unenforceable, and in Washington, D.C., where new legislation has been proposed, surrogacy carries criminal penalties. \u00a0Seven states have at least one court opinion upholding some form of surrogacy,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s California.\u00a0 It\u2019s a haven for intended parents looking for a surrogate to help them build a family.<\/p>\n
The reporter adds, \u201cCalifornia has the most permissive law, allowing anyone to hire a woman to carry a baby and the birth certificate to carry the names of the intended parents. As a result, California has a booming surrogacy industry, attracting clients from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewin also highlights surrogacy arrangements gone wrong.<\/p>\n
She mentions a surrogate in Connecticut, Crystal Kelley, being offered $10,000 for an abortion, after a 5-month ultrasound discovered the fetus had health issues including heart defects, a cyst in the brain and a cleft palate.<\/p>\n
Kelley flew to Michigan, \u201cwhere surrogacy contracts are unenforceable,\u201d had the baby and the child was adopted by another family.<\/p>\n
As I\u2019ve previsoulsy said, these types of surrogacy cases are not the norm.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Lahl also appears in the article, the film creator of, \u201cBreeders: A Subclass of Women?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewin mentions one surrogate featured in the film: A Texan woman, Gail Robinson, who was a surrogate for her brother and his partner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the course of the pregnancy, she had a serious falling-out with her brother and suffered life-threatening eclampsia. \u00a0Ms. Robinson, who had never had a child of her own, ended up seeking custody of the twin girls she carried and was declared a legal parent, along with the partner, despite her lack of genetic connection to the twins,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n