Surrogacy Agreements   Tags: biotechnology_law, contract_law, family_law, health_law  

This research guide attempts to present the legal issues relating to surrogacy agreements and pull relevant resources into this one guide. While I have tried to make the material accessible to non-lawyers who might want a general outline of those issues surrounding surrogacy agreements, this guide is not meant to replace the legal advice of a competent attorney. Those folks interested in exploring surrogacy to address their reproductive needs should seek an experienced and qualified attorney to determine those options available to them in their home state.

Reproductive science and technology has advanced at a considerable pace. In many jurisdictions such advancements have not been adequately dealt with by statute or case law and often present novel questions of law with regard to contracts, parentage, and adoption. This research guide collects and annotates those legal materials relevant to surrogacy agreements.
Because surrogacy agreements are creatures of contract law and family law, they are governed largely by state law and their validity and application will vary from state to state. This guide focuses on the state laws and case law governing surrogacy agreements, while discussing some common themes found in surrogacy agreements.

I am Joshua Saunders and I am currently a third-year student at Georgia State University’s College of Law. Though I am not a parent myself, I do have the privilege of being a Godparent of several wonderful children, some of whom were conceived through the use of technology and/or have been lucky enough to have two parents through the use of common law “second-parent adoption.” I also have been appointed as an executor for one family who availed themselves of reproductive technology to bring their son into their lives. It was through observing the many legal steps that family had to go through that piqued my interest in this area of the law.

Bibliographies on this Web site were prepared for educational purposes by law students as part of Nancy P. Johnson's Advanced Legal Research course. The Law Library does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided. Thorough legal research requires a researcher to update materials from date of publication; please note the semester and year the bibliography was prepared.