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In cases where a woman is infertile but a man is fertile, couples who want to have children often consider a surrogacy arrangement.  However, the legal issues surrounding surrogacy agreements can be quite complicated.  In this article, a Colorado Springs family attorney reviews some of the most common legal issues involved in working with a surrogate mother. 

Most surrogacy agreements occur a married couple contracts with a fertile woman (usually an outside party), who agrees to become artificially inseminated with the sperm of the fertile husband, or impregnated with the embryo produced by the wife’s ovum.  The surrogate mother then carries the pregnancy to term and delivers the baby.  She then relinquishes the child to the couple, assuming no parental rights or responsibilities. 

Legal Aspects of Artificial Insemination

In order to pre-establish legal parenthood of the infant, a court order is usually obtained, which requires testing that proves the husband to be the child’s biological father.  Once the child is born, the surrogate mother signs her consent to terminate her rights to the child, essentially leaving the husband of the couple with sole custody.  However, it will still be necessary for the wife to legally adopt the child.

Legal Aspects of Embryo Transplants