Surrogacy has opened doors for parents who
cannot conceive a child naturally. A surrogate is a woman who agrees to become
a parent just for delivering the child. The process involves signing a
contract.
In some cases, the surrogate is the child's
genetic mother or while in others, she is a gestational carrier. Given the
important role the surrogate play, she gets to enjoy certain legal rights when
she agrees to gestational surrogacy to
the time after birth. Here are the legal rights of a surrogate mother.
•
Parental rights
Generally, the surrogate contract relinquishes
all parental rights of the surrogate to the infant once it is born. This means
that the man who provides the sperm for fertilization holds the child's sole
custody and vice versa. In fact, he is listed as the father of the child in the
court orders attained before the delivery.
The wife can later follow the legal route to adopt the kid. However, as
the consent forms are signed after the birth, the surrogate mother can change
her mind. This is why this same sexsurrogacy uk form is not preferred these days.
While in gestational surrogacy in Australia, the court papers mention the intended
couple as the child's biological parents. The actual parents name is written on
the child’s birth certificate. So, the surrogate cannot keep the baby.
• Expenses
The surrogate mother under the contract has the
right to receive all medical and other essential expenses as long as she
carries a child. While in certain other related medical expenses too can be
considered because the situation can affect the infant if not taken care of
timely.
Some parents even provide the additional
surrogate expenses, including housing, rent, food, travel, and some extra
amount. Not to mention the final amount
the surrogate will get for being the surrogate of the child.
• Counselling
The
surrogate mother can choose professional counseling as per her will from the
early surrogacy stages to throughout the pregnancy period and beyond. The
counseling can either be for the surrogate alone or it can be with intended
parents by her side. The parents must pay the expenses of the counseling.
• Privacy
The surrogate holds the legal right to privacy.
This means that when they register themselves at an agency matching intended
parents with the surrogate, their privacy must be protected until everyone
meets together. In fact, during the pregnancy period, the surrogate must have
their privacy as long as they aren't doing anything to harm the fetus.
•State supporting surrogacy
A surrogate can only enjoy legal rights in the
states that accept surrogacy legally. You must know there are no uniform
Federal laws about surrogacy. However, various States have their valid laws
about the same. Although not so common during the past years, surrogacy has now
become acceptable in most countries. Thus, a surrogate mother gets to enjoy all
the legal rights throughout her surrogacy journey. The laws of a state about
the compensation, type of surrogacy, rights, and others vary greatly. So it is
better to stay updated about the laws to ensure everyone benefits from them.
Conclusion
The legal rights of a surrogate vary in
different states. However, the basic right of privacy and payment of medical
expenses remains the same everywhere. But to ensure that every party benefit
from legal rights, you must stay updated about your state's laws.
