Surrogacy laws in California are regarded as some of the best in the country, as it allows parental rights to parents before the baby’s birth. This means that even during surrogacy, the intended parents are the baby’s legal parents. The surrogate mother’s rights are also protected.

Types of Surrogacy

There are two types of surrogacy:

  • Traditional surrogacy: Traditional surrogacy is when a woman is artificially inseminated with the intended father’s sperm. She is the biological mother but carries the child for the intended parents to raise. Donor sperm is also an option if the father can’t donate his own.
  • Gestational surrogacy: A woman receives an embryo artificially grown from the intended father’s sperm (or donated sperm) and the intended mother’s egg (or an external egg donor). The gestational carrier bears the baby until birth but has no genetic relations to the child.

Why the Contract Should Come From an Attorney

It’s best to hire a family attorney with specific experience in reproductive law to draft a surrogacy contract that will patently explain the surrogate’s role and agreements and vice versa. Both parties need to have their own legal representation in California. If the surrogate mother gives birth out of state, adoption proceedings will have to be arranged, but this can be put into the contract.

Getting a contract in place reduces legal issues after the child’s birth. Many, and maybe even all, possible scenarios can be outlined, and a solution can be created, which will be agreed upon by both the intended parents and the surrogate. For example, a clause can be included about what happens after birth if there are twins or triplets.

Parental Rights Before Birth

Obtaining a declaration of parentage ensures that you and your partner get to have the baby after birth without having to go through an adoption process. You will be considered legal parents throughout the surrogacy and immediately after birth. Not all states allow this, but fortunately this is possible in California.

Same-sex parents and unmarried parents are allowed the same rights as married parents, and no pre-birth parentage hearings are needed for the surrogacy agreement. This makes California’s surrogacies very accessible for all types of families and, interestingly, even international families that reside in California.

Something to keep in mind is that the surrogate has rights herself, which means that even though she isn’t genetically related to the child, your rights aren’t automatically protected. Hence, it’s extremely important to work with a surrogacy attorney.

Health Insurance

Surrogacy is a lengthy process, and medical help should always be readily available for any emergencies that may occur. Not all health insurance plans cater to surrogacy, so you might have to get a surrogacy-pregnancy plan for the time being.

In many states, it is the surrogate’s responsibility to pay her own health insurance, but it is possible to get term coverage that will cover surrogate maternity expenses for the duration of the pregnancy and possibly sometime after. These insurance add-ons can be quite pricey, so find out with your health insurance what steps of the surrogacy process are covered, before committing.

If you are considering using a surrogate to extend your family, get in touch with Westover Law today to start your journey with surrogacy laws in California correctly.