What New England states are good for surrogacy?
You may be wondering what New England states are good for surrogacy? For those of you not from our region, I’ll remind you that the six New England states are New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
So which of these states are good for surrogacy? The answer may surprise you because it’s ALL of them! These are all states with good surrogacy laws and access to excellent fertility clinics, maternity care, and NICUs (although let’s hope you don’t need that last one!). While we hope you have a boring pregnancy, it’s good to know that advanced medical care is located in the international health care hub of Boston and also at academic medical centers throughout the region. And all of the New England states offer some form of pre-birth orders (PBOs) to make sure the birth certificate lists only the intended parents’ names from the start.
That said, each state has some individual pros and cons so some states may be better for certain situations than others. Let’s go through them one by one:
New Hampshire:
New Hampshire was the very first New England state to put a comprehensive parentage law on the books. Our own Co-Director, Catherine Tucker, was an author of this law. This law governs all types of assisted reproduction, including gestational surrogacy (meaning surrogacy using an egg from a donor or from the intended mother). Gestational surrogacy is the kind of surrogacy we handle here at New England Surrogacy. So New Hampshire is a good state for both surrogates and intended parents to pursue gestational surrogacy.
One important thing to know about New Hampshire’s surrogacy law is that it gives a lot of flexibility to the intended parents and surrogates to craft their own journey that meets their individual needs. This allows you to design your own journey that is right for you. Another nice thing about New Hampshire is that most New Hampshire insurance policies cover maternity care for the surrogate.
Vermont:
Following the lead of New Hampshire, Vermont was the second New England state to put a comprehensive parentage act on the books. The Vermont law was largely based on the Uniform Parentage Act, also called the UPA, and also governs all types of assisted reproduction including gestational surrogacy. Yay Vermont!
Maine:
Maine followed suit shortly after New Hampshire and Vermont in enacting a comprehensive parentage law. Surrogacy is one of the many types of assisted reproduction governed by this law. Did you know that traditional surrogacy (AKA genetic surrogacy) between close family members is allowed in Maine? While New England Surrogacy does not handle traditional surrogacy arrangements, we like seeing folks having family-building options. One thing to know about Maine is that insurance benefits for making embryos through IVF are very generous under Maine insurance policies.
Massachusetts:
Gestational surrogacy has been practiced in Massachusetts for a very very long time. The first kiddos born from gestational surrogacy in Massachusetts are now adults. Thanks to appellate court decisions that were favorable to gestational surrogacy, courts in Massachusetts can (and do) issue pre-birth orders on a regular basis. Surrogate births are a regular event at many Massachusetts hospitals. Surrogacy is flourishing in Massachusetts. So you may be surprised to learn that Massachusetts does not have a surrogacy law on the books. New England Surrogacy has been working with Resolve New England and GLAD to try to get such a law in place, but for now, Massachusetts surrogacy journeys must rely on the established favorable case law.
Connecticut:
Like Massachusetts, surrogacy has flourished in Connecticut for a long time. However, the scant law on the books didn’t leave a lot of guidance for intended parents, surrogates, and their lawyers. Recently, Connecticut adopted its own version of the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) and now there is comprehensive guidance for Connecticut journeys. Nice job Constitution State!
Rhode Island:
Last but not least is our smallest New England state, Rhode Island. Rhode Island has a long history of a favorable legal environment for surrogacy and pre-birth orders. However, a bump in the road a few years ago threw some surrogacy journeys off-track and caused the lawyers to have a more difficult time obtaining pre-birth orders (AKA PBOs). The good news is that the Rhode Island Legislature responded by enacting a law that governed surrogacy and provided for consistency in the issuance of pre-birth orders. So all is well in Rhode Island now regarding gestational surrogacy.
So that’s a wrap on the New England states. You should know that New England Surrogacy’s main office is located in New Hampshire, and we have a satellite office in Connecticut. We are on the ground here in New England to be there for you through your journey, whether you are an intended parent or surrogate.
We also, through New England Surrogacy, service the states of New York and New Jersey (although these two states are not technically part of New England). Both New York and New Jersey have good laws on the books about surrogacy, so let’s talk about those a little bit.
New York:
Compensated surrogacy in New York used to be a no-no. That changed with the recent enactment of a new law that governs gestational surrogacy. There are two important things to know about surrogacy in New York under this new law. First is that compensated surrogacy in New York is highly regulated, so you have less wiggle room to structure your own journey. And second is that agencies have to be licensed to operate in New York. New England Surrogacy is proud to have met the rigorous qualification process to earn our New York surrogacy agency license (license number GS221018).
New Jersey:
Finally, we get to the Garden State. New Jersey has a long-established reputation for being surrogacy-unfriendly. And this was a well-deserved reputation. Remember the Baby M case? That really shed surrogacy in a bad light. But the Baby M case involved a traditional surrogate, and the rules for traditional surrogacy don’t apply so well to gestational surrogacy. Fortunately, the New Jersey Legislature recognized that and has enacted a law permitting and regulating gestational surrogacy in New Jersey. So New Jersey flipped the script and became a surrogacy-friendly state. Great news for our friends in New Jersey!
Bottom line:
New England Surrogacy operates in 8 surrogacy-friendly states. If you are a prospective surrogate in this region, we are happy to chat with you about how the process works in your home state. And if you are an intended parent, we can discuss the pros and cons of matching in each state, based on the specific circumstances of your situation. Get in touch today!