Join me and Anna Buxton, international surrogacy coordinator for MySurrogacyJourney.com, an online resource and support organization, for an Instagram video on surrogacy in the U.S. for U.K. intended parents.

As Anna and I discuss, there is no national surrogacy law in the United States; rather the laws governing assisted reproduction and parentage differ from state to state. Some states, such as California and New York, have laws that make it easier for intended parents to be recognized as legal parents; other states rely on case law or have more restrictive laws restricting who is eligible to participate in surrogacy. That’s why I recommend intended parents either begin their surrogacy journey by consulting with an experienced fertility lawyer, who can advise them on the best location for their surrogacy, based on their unique circumstances, or do so early in the surrogacy process. A qualified attorney will consider where the new family will live, their nationality, marital status of the parents, whose genetics will be used in conception, and where the child will be registered and recognized in determining the best state for the surrogacy. U.K. intended parents will need to retain a U.K. attorney as well to complete parentage and citizen procedures once they bring their baby home.

Our discussion continues to discuss COVID-19-related travel limitations, surrogacy agreements, the importance of advance medical and psychological screening in surrogacy matching, and the importance of the intended parent-surrogate relationship as well as a range of other issues—great information for U.K. intended parents or for anyone considering surrogacy as a path to parenthood.