How do families help ensure that a surrogate mother cares for a child during pregnancy? What legal rights do families have to a child born from a surrogate mother? What stops a surrogate mother from keeping a child after they are born? These are all valid questions that people have when choosing surrogacy to start their family.
All of these possible issues can be brought up when drafting a surrogacy contract. Surrogacy contracts are essential legal documents created to outline the legal rights and protection of parents and surrogate mothers. Here is what you should know:
Protecting the rights of parents and surrogate mothers
Surrogacy contracts establish the legal framework of a surrogacy arrangement. The contract can establish the roles and responsibilities of all parties, including the parents, surrogate mother, fertility clinics and other parties.
One of the main focuses of a surrogacy contract is establishing who are the intended legal parents of a child born from a surrogate mother. The contract can help clarify that a surrogate mother has an obligation to relinquish a child after birth to the intended parents. Furthermore, the contract can establish what rights parents have during doctor visits and the delivery of a child.
The surrogate mother may also be expected to fulfill certain expectations outlined in a surrogacy contract. Some of these obligations include dietary restriction, abstinence from alcohol and drugs and communication with intended parents. The contract can also provide financial support and compensation to the surrogate mother for her services, such as medical and living expenses.
Common issues that can be avoided with a surrogacy contract
A surrogacy contract is intended to avoid larger issues that can arise from agreeing to surrogacy. The biggest issue that can come from not establishing a surrogacy contract is legal custody of a child. In other words, a surrogate mother may want to keep the child after they are born. Financial issues, legal implications and other potential issues can be avoided with a strong surrogacy contract. Families and surrogate mothers may need to seek legal guidance to establish theirs.