Michigan to lift nation's only ban on paid surrogacy agreements
Michigan will lift its ban on compensated surrogacy agreements, after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills Monday expanding options for those in Michigan who wish to have children but cannot do so through traditional means.
The package signed by Whitmer, House Bills 5207-5215, is called the Michigan Family Protection Act by supporters and repeals a ban on compensated surrogacy, which has been in place in Michigan since 1988.
Surrogate parenting, a means of assisted reproduction, refers to the process in which a woman will carry a pregnancy and deliver a child for another family. Parental surrogacy has been taking place in Michigan in the years since the ban on compensated surrogacy agreements was put in place, but parents and surrogates said during committee testimony on the bills the practice was difficult, forcing parents to go through lengthy adoption processes for their own biological children.
"(This) is a package of commonsense, long overdue changes to remove criminal prohibitions on surrogacy, to protect families formed by IVF (In vitro fertilization) and to ensure LGBTQ+ parents are treated equally," Whitmer said at an event in Royal Oak marking the bill signing. The event was livestreamed by Lansing TV station WILX.
Advocates for the bills say the new law will expand options for starting families. The main bill in the package was sponsored by state Rep. Samantha Steckloff, D-Farmington Hills.
Michigan was the only state with such a ban in place, according to advocates for the legislation. The package to repeal the ban passed along mostly partisan lines in the Legislature, although the main bill did receive two Republican votes when it passed the Senate.
"House Bills 5207-5215 lift this ban, and more importantly create a clear, legal link between parents and the children born in assisted reproduction," Steckloff said. "Whether using surrogacy or IVF, ensuring that a legal parent-child relationship exists will give children more sense of belonging and upbringing and eliminate any possible confusion around parentage and prevent bad actors from making undue claims."
A survivor of breast cancer, Steckloff testified during committee hearings of how she delayed the start of chemotherapy by a month in 2015 to go through IVF, allowing her and her husband to possibly start a family of their own one day.
In the Senate, Republicans attempted to introduce amendments maintaining criminal penalties for entering a surrogacy agreement with a minor or a developmentally disabled individual, which were in place with the previous law. The bills signed by Whitmer on Monday require those entering a surrogate agreement to be at least 21 years old, to complete consultations with medical and mental health professionals and to have independent legal representation, which supporters say will protect carriers.
The legality of IVF came into question after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos fertilized through IVF are considered "extrauterine children" and legally protected like any other child, although Alabama has since taken steps to shield IVF providers from legal liability since the ruling. Whitmer said the package signed Monday adds protections to IVF in Michigan.
More: Troy woman struck by breast cancer finds surrogacy as a path to motherhood
Stephanie Jones had her first child naturally. But her second child was born via surrogacy after Jones said she experienced life-threatening pregnancy complications.
“I shouldn’t have survived,” she said at a recent roundtable hosted by Whitmer that convened parents going through IVF. Both life-threatening pregnancies required medical abortions, she said. “And I remember, from an ICU bed in Flint, Michigan, being gobsmacked to learn about Michigan’s laws prohibiting surrogacy in our state, knowing that the same doctor that just saved my life came to me and said, ‘Stephanie, the only way you’re going to be able to have more children is through surrogacy.’ ”
She moved to Portland, Oregon, for a month to start the surrogacy process with egg retrieval and an out-of-state carrier. Her experience inspired her to advocate for changes to Michigan’s surrogacy laws. She founded the Michigan Fertility Alliance, an advocacy group focused on infertility issues. Jones also testified in support of the legislation when the bills were debated in committee hearings.
Because the bills did not receive two-thirds support in the Senate, the new law will not take effect until 90 days after the Michigan Legislature concludes its session this year.
Contact Arpan Lobo: [email protected]. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo. Contact Clara Hendrickson: [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X @clarajanehen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer signs bills lifting Michigan ban on paid surrogacy
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