Building a family is a deeply personal journey, but it is also a legal one. In the United States, laws about Assisted Reproduction, like surrogacy, are made by individual states rather than the federal government. Because of this, different states have very different rules.

Recent news from Texas has put international surrogacy back in the spotlight. Texas lawmakers are looking into new rules that would stop citizens from other countries from using surrogates in Texas to have babies. For parents who are planning to use a surrogate, seeing these kinds of headlines can naturally cause some worry.

When looking at these national headlines, it helps to understand the big picture of why the U.S. is a major hub for surrogacy, and how local state laws protect families closer to home.

Why Families from All Over the World Choose U.S. Surrogates

For decades, the United States has been a top choice for people around the globe who want to build a family through gestational surrogacy. There are many reasons that people choose to expand their family this way. Legal safety and clear rules are common reasons that make the United States a top choice.

In many countries across Europe and Asia, surrogacy is either completely illegal or highly restricted. When international parents consider the U.S., many are looking for a safe legal system. They want a process that offers excellent medical care and clear laws that protect everyone involved: the intended parents, the surrogates, and the babies.

A common misunderstanding is that these international families want to move to the U.S. permanently. In reality, they just want to establish their legal parental rights here so they can safely take their babies back home. Once they return to their home countries, they establish citizenship for their children there. This allows the kids to grow up with the local healthcare, education, and social benefits of their own home nations.

The Texas Debate: Current Surrogacy Law vs. Proposed Surrogacy Ban

Texas has traditionally been considered a surrogacy-friendly state, operating under a specific chapter of the Texas Family Code established in 2003. However, current legislative discussions aim to fundamentally change who can access these legal protections.

The table below highlights how the rules work today versus what the proposed restrictions would mean if passed into law.

The Current Status of Surrogacy Laws by State Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

Because there is no single federal law for surrogacy, a change in one state does not affect how surrogacy works in another. What happens in Texas has no legal impact on families here in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The table below breaks down how different regions handle surrogacy, showing why the laws in our local area remain some of the strongest in the country.

Deep Dive: Surrogacy Protections in New Jersey

It’s important to note, New Jersey has one of the most reliable and modern systems for surrogacy in the entire country. In 2018, the state passed a law called the New Jersey Gestational Carrier Agreement Act. This law took away the guesswork and created a clear checklist for everyone involved.

To make sure surrogacy is safe and fair, the law sets strict rules for who can participate and how the contracts must be written.

Rules for the Gestational Carrier (Surrogate):

• Age Limit: The surrogate must be at least 21 years old.
• Medical History: She must have already given birth to at least one child of her own.
• Evaluations: She must pass both a medical checkup and a psychological evaluation to ensure she is physically and emotionally ready.
• Legal Help: She must have her own independent attorney to review the contract. The intended parents can pay for this attorney, but the lawyer answers only to the surrogate.

Rules for the Contract and Process:

• Timing: The legal contract must be signed before any medical procedures or embryo transfers take place.
• Separate Attorneys: The intended parents and the surrogate cannot use the same lawyer. Both sides must have separate legal representation to prevent conflicts of interest.
• Immediate Custody: The contract must state that the intended parents will take custody of the child immediately at birth, and they are solely responsible for supporting the child financially.
• Reasonable Expenses: The intended parents are legally allowed to cover the surrogate’s reasonable costs, including medical bills, legal fees, and basic living expenses during the pregnancy.

Once these steps are followed, the intended parents file an order of parentage with the court during the pregnancy. This ensures their names go directly on the birth certificate immediately after delivery.

Deep Dive: Surrogacy Protections in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania handles surrogacy a bit differently than New Jersey, but the system is just as strong. Pennsylvania does not have a specific written surrogacy statute. Instead, it relies on case law, which means rules that have been established by judges in past court decisions.

The turning point for Pennsylvania occurred in 2006 with a famous case called J.F. v. D.B.. In that case, the court ruled that surrogacy contracts are completely legal and do not go against public policy. The court also made it clear that a gestational carrier is not the legal mother of the child. This opened the door for surrogacy to grow safely across the state.

Because Pennsylvania relies on court decisions, the exact steps can vary slightly depending on the county where the baby is born. However, the overall framework remains highly supportive for all types of families.

Key Features of Pennsylvania Surrogacy:

• Inclusive Standards: Pennsylvania welcomes married couples, unmarried couples, single parents, and LGBTQ+ individuals to build families through surrogacy.
• Genetic Connection Not Required: Intended parents do not need to share a genetic link to the embryo to be named the legal parents.
• Pre-Birth Orders: In most counties, judges routinely sign pre-birth parentage orders. This document tells the hospital to release the baby to the intended parents and ensures the state issues a birth certificate with the intended parents’ names on it.
• Independent Counsel: Just like in New Jersey, best legal practice in Pennsylvania requires both the surrogate and the parents to have their own separate lawyers to negotiate the surrogacy roadmap.

The Step-by-Step Surrogacy Journey

To see how these laws work in the real world, it helps to look at the entire surrogacy process from start to finish. A successful journey relies on a careful, step-by-step roadmap.

1. Matching and Screening: Intended parents and potential surrogates connect, usually through an agency. Before any agreements are made, the surrogate goes through rigorous medical and psychological evaluations.
2. The Legal Contract: Once matching is complete, the legal phase begins. The intended parents and the surrogate work with their own separate attorneys to write and sign a Gestational Carrier Agreement. This contract outlines financial terms, medical choices, and parental rights.
3. The Medical Phase: With the legal contract finalized, the medical clinic can begin. An embryo created through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is transferred to the surrogate.
4. Securing Parentage Orders: During the second or third trimester of the pregnancy, the attorneys file paperwork with the court to get a pre-birth order. This legal document instructs the hospital and the state’s vital statistics office to place the intended parents’ names directly on the baby’s birth certificate.
5. Birth and Homecoming: When the baby is born, the intended parents take immediate custody at the hospital. For international families, this phase also includes working with immigration authorities to secure the child’s passport so they can safely travel back to their home country.

Financial Protections and Trust Accounts

Another critical part of surrogacy law involves managing financial risks. Surrogacy involves significant expenses, including medical fees, insurance premiums, and surrogate compensation. To protect both sides, the law requires strict financial guardrails.

• Escrow and Trust Accounts: Before any medical treatments begin, the intended parents place the required funds into an independent escrow or trust account. This account is managed by a neutral third party, such as an attorney or an escrow agency.
• Protecting the Surrogate: The surrogate is guaranteed that the money for her expenses and compensation is safe and available. She does not have to worry about the parents running out of funds during the pregnancy.
• Protecting the Parents: Funds are only released from the account when specific conditions in the contract are met, such as proof of medical bills or monthly expense receipts. This ensures the parents’ money is used exactly as agreed.

How Paperwork Works for International Families

For families traveling from abroad, the legal journey does not end at birth. Because the child is born on U.S. soil, they are automatically granted U.S. citizenship under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. However, returning home requires navigating a specific legal bridge between U.S. law and the laws of the parents’ home country.

• The Birth Certificate: The pre-birth order obtained during pregnancy ensures that the international parents are listed as the mother and father (or Parent 1 and Parent 2) on the official state birth certificate issued after delivery.
• The U.S. Passport: Before leaving the country, the parents must apply for and receive a U.S. passport for the infant. This allows the baby to legally exit the United States.
• Establishing Citizenship at Home: When the family arrives in their home country, they work with local family law attorneys to register the birth with their local government. Because the parents have already been declared the legal parents by an American court, their home country can smoothly grant local citizenship and access to family benefits.

Support from A Surrogacy Lawyer is the Best Protection

The changing debates in states like Texas remind us that family law is always evolving. While national headlines will come and go, the goal of an experienced surrogacy and family formation lawyer stays exactly the same: to give you a safe, predictable, and legally secure path to parenthood.

Whether you live down the street or are an international parent looking to partner with a New Jersey or Pennsylvania based surrogate, working with an experienced attorney who knows local state laws inside and out is the best way to protect your journey from start to finish.

Navigating Your Family Formation Journey

For those navigating surrogacy, assisted reproduction, or other family formation matters, the Law Office of Cofsky & Zeidman works with individuals and families throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey to provide experienced, reliable guidance.

You can speak with an experienced family formation lawyer at any of our local office locations:

• Haddonfield, NJ: (856) 429-5005
• Woodbury, NJ: (856) 845-2555
• Philadelphia, PA: (215) 563-2150