Why has Idaho become a surrogacy hot spot?

On Behalf of | Sep 19, 2019 | Surrogacy |

New technologies and evolving social standards have led to a recent rise in surrogacy. Idaho has become something of a hot spot. Given all the different places that couples could look for gestational carriers, why do so many of them choose Idaho?

This was the subject of a 2018 panel discussion hosted by Boise State Public Radio. The speakers brought together a base of knowledge that tapped into the state’s health care, lifestyles, surrogacy providers and laws. They noted that Idahoans’ healthy lifestyles helped make the state an attractive surrogacy destination. But more importantly, they also noted the state boasts some helpful legal circumstances.

Idaho surrogacy is largely a contractual matter

As noted by Worldwide Surrogacy and many other surrogacy agencies, Idaho doesn’t have any laws that ban or limit gestational surrogacy. On the contrary, the state is largely supportive of the process. The details may vary from case to case, but in general:

  • The legal rights and intentions of all parties should follow the terms of the surrogate contract. Parents will want to make sure their contracts clearly detail each party’s rights and responsibilities.
  • Health care providers may think of the surrogacy carrier as the legal mother up until birth but should work to acknowledge the intended parents throughout the process.
  • If the intended parents are the biological parents, they can have their names on the birth certificate.
  • If one of the parents is not a biological parent, that parent will need to file for step-parent adoption.

There are other ways Idaho might accommodate surrogacy. For example, one of the panelists talked about how birth centers in Idaho band the intended parents to the baby. They get their own room in the birth center, as does the gestational carrier.

Some parents might choose to be near the carrier while the others might want a room further away. The centers try to honor the plans they’re given—both the gestational care plan and the baby’s intended care plan.

A birth makes all the little things matter more

For parents looking to surrogacy or women thinking about serving as surrogates, there are all kinds of little details at the start of the process that may seem insignificant compared to the larger picture. But one of the speakers mentioned how all the little things started to matter more as everything rolled forward.

Lawyers who have experience with surrogate contracts can help. Detailed contracts can cover every step from medical screening and finances to establishing parental rights. The better each party understands the process and is confident about the baby’s health and future, the more smoothly the process should go.