In a world too often defined by discord and delay, progress sometimes arrives without fanfare—just unspoken agreement that something long overlooked needs to be made right. 

This week, the California State Senate passed SB 257—the PARENT Act—with a unanimous vote. No shouting. No headlines. Just 39 lawmakers in agreement that pregnancy, in every form, deserves to be met with care—not bureaucratic barriers. 

At first glance, the bill may sound technical. It redefines pregnancy as a qualifying life event under health insurance law. But buried in that legal phrase is something deeply human: a recognition that those who carry life—whether for themselves or for someone else—should never be left without protection. 

The Problem Hiding in the Fine Print 

Under current rules in California and many other states, pregnancy is not considered a qualifying life event. That’s the term insurers use to describe major life changes—like marriage, divorce, childbirth, or losing a job—that allow people to enroll in or adjust their health insurance coverage outside of the limited “open enrollment” period each year. 

Without such an event, people must wait months to get coverage—regardless of need, urgency, or circumstance. 

Which means that if a woman becomes pregnant unexpectedly, or if a gestational carrier—someone who agrees to carry a child for intended parents through in vitro fertilization—becomes pregnant outside that narrow window, she may not be allowed to enroll in insurance until the next open enrollment period. 

And if she’s carrying someone else’s baby? She may be told her pregnancy isn’t eligible for coverage—because it’s not “hers.” 

It’s not written in malice, but in margins—in the muted absence of language that should have been there all along. 

What SB 257 Would Do 

SB 257 would change that. 

If enacted, the bill would: 

• Officially recognize pregnancy as a qualifying life event, allowing individuals to access or update health insurance when they become pregnant, no matter when that occurs during the year 

• Prohibit insurers from denying maternity,  care or coverage based on how a pregnancy was conceived—including through IVF or gestational surrogacy.

Extend these protections to gestational carriers, whose pregnancies have often existed in legal and logistical gray zones 

California’s Long Tradition of Leading 

California has long led the nation in recognizing the legal and emotional complexity of modern family-making. It was one of the first states to offer legal recognition to same-sex parents, to support surrogacy, and to offer guidance to international families navigating cross-border birth. 

SB 257 continues in that tradition. It doesn’t rewrite the rules of reproduction—it merely closes a neglected loophole that too often punishes those who carry the greatest burden with the fewest protections. 

But it’s important to note: SB 257 is not yet law. It has passed the Senate. It now moves to the Assembly, where it must be debated and passed before heading to the Governor’s desk for signature. If approved, its protections would apply to insurance plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026. 

Why This Moment Matters 

In a legislative session filled with louder, flashier bills, SB 257 stands apart in its unassuming dignity. It is a rare moment of bipartisan agreement that reminds us what law is for—not just structure, but justice. 

Because, at its core, this bill is about visibility. It asks whether we’re willing to see a pregnancy carried not for oneself, but for someone else—as no less real, no less deserving, no less human. 

It asks whether a woman should ever be denied medical care because the child in her womb belongs to another heart.  This bill further eliminates the inherent discrimination of covering one woman’s pregnancy, and not another’s. 

It asks whether love, labor, and intention can be met with coverage—not exclusion. 

What You Can Do 

This bill still needs support. If you believe in the future it represents: 

• Support the Insurance Access and Equality ALliance, the non-profit supporting this bill: Donate | Support Community Initiatives — Insurance Access and Equity Alliance 

• Send a Thank You to the honorable Senator Aisha Wahab for zealously fighting for this bill: https://ed10.senate.ca.gov/contact 

• Track its progress through the California Legislative Information Portal 

• Contact your Assembly representative to voice your support 
• Share this story—with intended parents, gestational carriers, professionals, and policymakers—so no one is left unaware of what’s at stake 

At IFLG, we walk beside those who build families in extraordinary ways. We believe legal systems should reflect not just biology, but compassion—and that carrying a child, for any reason, should never disqualify someone from care. If you have questions about SB 257 or its potential impact, contact us at www.iflg.net, or speak with your IFLG attorney. We are here—to advocate, to advise, and to honor the complexity of every journey to parenthood.