States of Confusion: Regulation of Surrogacy in the United States

Abstract

Some countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, and Norway, ban commercial surrogacy (Patton, 2010, p.523). Others, like India and the Ukraine, have actively tried to be seen as a commercial surrogacy destination (Mohapatra, 2012). Unlike either of these approaches, the United States (“U.S.”) has no national stance on surrogacy. In fact, there are no national laws or regulations related to surrogacy in the U.S. (Margalit, 2014). Instead, each of the fifty states has its own approach to surrogacy-with some states embracing commercial surrogacy and others banning all types of surrogacy (Patton, 2010). This chapter provides an overview of surrogacy in the U.S., focusing particularly in California, which has emerged as an international surrogacy hub due to its permissive laws regarding commercial surrogacy.

Keywords: Surrogacy, United States, California, Reproductive Tourism