Should a Surrogate be Allowed to Change Her Mind?
So I had the TV on the other morning on the Game Show Network (please don't judge me!) and they were running a rerun of Card Sharks. It was contestant Evelyn's turn. She was asked to guess the results of a poll of a hundred people. The question posed in the poll was: "Should a surrogate mother be allowed to change her mind?" Now, this show was running in the 1980s, so this question clearly was referring to genetic surrogacy (traditional surrogacy) but what were most interesting were the answers. Evelyn said that she was a real estate agent herself and used to dealing with contracts; she felt that a signed contract should be enforceable. And most of the people polled agreed with her--only 15 of 100 people though a genetic surrogate should be allowed to change her mind. A surprisingly low number given that a genetic surrogate is a woman whose own egg is used.
When it comes to the law, however, a genetic surrogate almost always has the option to change her mind after the child is born. This is one of the reasons why many intended parents prefer gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate's eggs are not used. In gestational surrogacy, the eggs come either from an intended mother or egg donor. Therefore, the gestational surrogate has no genetic connection to the baby. Because the traditional female role is split into two parts--genetic/eggs and gestational/uterus--the laws for gestational surrogacy can provide better protections to intended parents (and to surrogates also).
At New England Surrogacy, we only handle gestational surrogacy arrangements. What this means for intended parents is that you can benefit from gestational surrogacy laws, like those found in our home state of New Hampshire. A few key points about New Hampshire's surrogacy law:
A gestational surrogate is not given the option to change her mind after the baby is born.
A prospective gestational surrogate is required to undergo a mental health consultation to ensure that she is comfortable with the fact that she will part with the child after his/her birth.
Gestational surrogacy contracts are presumed valid and enforceable.
The New Hampshire law protects intended parents, but it protects surrogates also. Under New Hampshire law, surrogates don't have to worry about the intended parents changing their minds either. All good stuff! And why we work with New Hampshire surrogates—to provide a peaceful, stress-free surrogacy journey for everyone.
Contact us today to learn about becoming an intended parent in New Hampshire. We offer free phone/Skype/office consults for intended parents.
