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California being the most liberal state in the US, has been among the first to create a favorable legal framework for the core business of a surrogacy agency like Los Angeles Surrogacy: matching intended parents and surrogate mothers, and following the pregnancy of the surrogate mother to its happy result.
As the medical science behind IVF and assisted procreation procedures progresses, it becomes safer and more reliable with more certain outcomes. Surrogacy is now the most common method adopted by couples with infertility issues and singles who wish to become parents.
The number of cases of surrogacy pregnancies in California has grown since the 90s. With this trend, the California courts have adjudicated many landmark surrogacy cases.
Our agency staff keeps abreast of all legal developments in the industry: not just in California, but nationwide as we receive demands from intended parents from all around the country. As demand grows and the number of states of residence of intended parents increases, we keep ourselves informed of all case outcomes, and of new cases on the docket.
Surrogacy Pregnancy in California:
California has been a hub for surrogacy pregnancies since the early 1990s, with many intended parents flocking from other jurisdictions to the state of California to take advantage of its favorable legal climate for surrogacy arrangements.
California law allows for both traditional and gestational surrogacy, and there are no restrictions on compensation for surrogates. This has made California an attractive destination for intended parents who are seeking a surrogate, as well as for women interested in becoming surrogates.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), California consistently ranks as one of the top states for surrogacy pregnancies. In 2019, there were 912 surrogacy pregnancies in California, accounting for 18% of all surrogacy pregnancies in the United States that year. This is a significant increase from the early 1990s when surrogacy was still a relatively new practice in the state.
Case Law in California:
The landmark surrogacy cases adjudicated in California have contributed to shaping the legal framework for surrogacy in the United States. One of the most notable cases was Johnson v. Calvert, decided by the California Supreme Court in 1993.
In that case, a surrogate mother contested the validity of a surrogacy agreement, arguing that she should have parental rights over the child she carried. The court ultimately ruled in favor of the intended parents, stating that the intended mother was the legal mother of the child because she had provided the genetic material for the pregnancy.
Another important case in California was In re Marriage of Moschetta, which was decided by the California Court of Appeal in 1994. In this case, a surrogate mother sought custody of the child she had carried, arguing that the intended parents were unfit to raise the child. The court ultimately ruled in favor of the intended parents, stating that the surrogate had no parental rights over the child because she had agreed to give up those rights in the surrogacy agreement.
Since these landmark cases, there have been several other important surrogacy cases in California. In 2015, a California court ruled in the case of Marriage of Buzzanca that a gestational carrier who had provided genetic material for the pregnancy was not a legal parent of the child. The court also ruled that the intended parents were the legal parents of the child from the moment of birth, even though they were not biologically related to the child.
In 2020, a California court ruled in the case of In re M.F. that a child born through surrogacy was entitled to child support from the intended father. This ruling was significant because it established that intended parents have a legal obligation to provide financial support for children born through surrogacy, even if they are not biologically related to the child.
In the case of Marriage of Dahl (2021), a surrogate mother sought parental rights over the child she had carried, arguing that the intended parents had abandoned the child. The court ultimately ruled in favor of the intended parents, stating that they had not abandoned the child and that the surrogate had no parental rights over the child because she had agreed to give up those rights in the surrogacy agreement.
In re C.F. (2021), a California court ruled that a child born through surrogacy was entitled to inherit from her biological father, even though he was not legally recognized as her father at the time of her birth. The court’s ruling established that biological relationships are important in determining inheritance rights for children born through surrogacy, even in cases where the intended parents are not legally recognized as the child’s parents at the time of birth.
California, a Surrogacy-Friendly State:
Overall, the case law in California has been relatively favorable for intended parents who enter into surrogacy arrangements. The courts have consistently upheld surrogacy agreements and have recognized intended parents as the legal parents of the children born through surrogacy. This has helped establish California as a surrogacy-friendly state and has encouraged the growth of the surrogacy industry in the state.
