Traditional Surrogates
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:
Are there age limitations to being a traditional surrogate?
A: To qualify as a traditional surrogate, you should
be between 21 and 36. You may be able to serve as a traditional
surrogate if you are more than 36 years of age if your last child
was born two or fewer years ago.
Q:
I had my tubes tied. Can I still serve as a traditional surrogate?
A:
Unfortunately, no. You will not be able to become pregnant by artificial
insemination if you have undergone a tubal ligation.
Q:
What happens if one or both of the intended parents die before the
baby is born?
A: If one intended parent dies, the other will
take sole custody of the baby and fulfill the contract as if both
were still living. If both intended parents die before the birth
of the child, the surrogate mother will relinquish the child at
birth to the person named in the Wills of the intended parents to
serve as guardian of the child. Intended parents must provide Surrogacy
Solutions with the full address and other contact information for
guardianship. Intended parents are required to carry life insurance
naming the unborn child or a trust for the exclusive benefit of
the unborn child as the beneficiary. If the intended father contributed
sperm, samples of his DNA are to be preserved in the event of his
death prior to the birth of the baby. The death of the intended
parents prior to the birth of the child will not result in you being
obligated or permitted to raise the child.
Q:
Do we have to go to the doctor for the artificial insemination?
A: Surrogacy Solutions strongly recommends that
inseminations be performed by a physician in all situations, and
we require that inseminations be performed by a physician in cases
where either the surrogate mother or the intended parents reside
in the State of Arkansas. In Arkansas, artificial insemination is
controlled by a law requiring that it be performed by a licensed
physician, but that physician does not have to be an infertility
physician.
If the surrogate
and intended parents both reside outside Arkansas, the laws of their
states permit it, and all parties are willing, Surrogacy Solutions
will not oppose a limited number of at-home self inseminations by
the surrogate mother.
Q:
Will I meet the intended parents?
A: Yes, unless you and the intended parents reach
an agreement to the contrary before the contract negotiations. Usually,
you meet one another after the contract negotiations and before
the medical treatment begins. The surrogate mother is allowed to
escape from the contract without any obligation to the intended
parents if she finds that she has no desire to assist the intended
parents after meeting them in person.
Q:
Is anything required of my husband or partner?
A: Your
husband or partner must agree to participate in medical screening
(HIV, Hepatitis B and C, CMV, and any other sexually transmitted
diseases or disorders). The same request must be made of any person
with whom you have had sexual contact during the six months prior
to applying as a surrogate mother.
For married
surrogates, husbands must become parties to the contract, must agree
to receive no tattoo or body piercing during the contract, and must
cooperate with all provisions of the contract. The intended parents
ordinarily ask to meet the surrogate’s husband, fiancé
or partner.
Q:
What if I have already found the intended parents I want
to help. Can Surrogacy Solutions provide us with a contract?
A:
Absolutely. We are happy to assist those surrogates and intended
parents with their contract needs, contract administration, and
finalizing the parent and child relationship after delivery. Our
agency fees for helping in this way are reduced accordingly. If
you are a surrogate mother who has already located a couple you
want to help, call us toll free (1-800-376-6992). We will be glad
to answer your questions and further describe how we can help you
and your couple.
Q:
Will my and my husband's names be on the birth certificate?
A:
For a surrogacy child delivered in Arkansas, the law provides that
the child is the child of the intended parents. The fact of the
surrogacy is recognized by a court order so that the birth certificate
can be issued in the name of the intended parents. We do not cause
a birth certificate to be issued prior to that order being signed
by the judge. For a child born outside of the State of Arkansas,
the laws of that state will apply. In all but one state, that means
that the surrogate and her husband would be named as the parents
on the birth certificate. However, in those situations, we do not
order the birth certificate if at all possible, until the intended
parents are legally recognized as the parents of the child and can
have their own names listed on the birth certificate.
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