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| Things to Consider for Same-Sex Couples | 1. Research, research, research!
Now you may be reading this article and you may have already decided that surrogacy is something you want to apply in order to start growing your family. However, there is practically no doubt that you have already done some research on this issue. You should be aware that reproductive technology is a very new science; however, the cultural as well as political climate gets changed much faster than you can research and even read. It is extremely important to garner any information you receive before you take your first step toward becoming parents through surrogacy. You should look for ads, bloggers, message boards, websites and organizations in the Internet, along as in other places, where any information like this can be found. In addition, you may sent for catalogues and brochures from different surrogacy agencies and clinics. You may also have some chats online, in case if you consider it to be your thing, check out the bookstories or libraries, talk to your friends and acquaintances, which you know have been there and done that already.
2. Surrogacy arrangements can be made privately or through an agency.
Here you may consider privacy of your financial circumstances to be one of the deciding factors. However, in case if you are reluctant to come out as being gay, lesbian, bi or transgender disbursement, to any surrogacy agency or if you are not able or not willing to pay for the added fees of an agency, you may look for a surrogate mother and find her on your own. It should be noted, that there are a lot of couples of intended parents and surrogate mothers, who have made successful surrogate agreements without using an agency. There exist two ways to locate an individual interested in entering into a surrogacy agreement with you. These ways are: surfing surrogate message boards and placing a classified ad on the Internet.
3. Laws, which regard the issue of surrogacy, vary fro state to state, and in some states there are no surrogacy laws at all.
For today there are six Surrogacy – Friendly states in the USA, in which couples as well as individuals are allowed to enter into surrogacy agreements. In addition, in eleven states, and in the District of Columbia surrogacy is considered to be either completely illegal or there are strict limitations, like prohibiting any kind of surrogacy agreement between surrogate mothers and unmarried couples, etc. Talking about the laws in the rest thirty three states, they appear to be either mixed or unclear. All information, provided is not consistent from one site to another; that is why it would be better to apply to some specific state legislatures directly. Anyway, before you start to consider surrogacy as an option to have a child, you should get to know about the law in your state or country, as well as in the state or country, where your potential surrogate mother lives, and in the state or country, where you wish the baby would arrive. Keep in mind, that laws are changing rapidly enough.
4. You need a lawyer.
Any kind of surrogacy arrangement, no matter whether it is independent or with the help of an agency, is to involve legal, psychological and medical professionals. Remember, that surrogate relationships as well as arrangements have been neither tested nor regulated by law in most places and legal issues that have no precedent, can arise. It is not a secret that different laws, including those, which consider the issue of surrogacy, vary from one state to another, that is why the attorney, you choose, is to be familiar with surrogacy as well as with family law in every state, involved. Therefore, in case if you are going to make an independent surrogacy arrangement, your lawyer will also be drawing up the contract between you and the surrogate mother of yours.
In addition, every psychological and emotional issue can easily turn into a legal one. That is why it would be important for a psychologist or counselor, who is quite well – experienced in surrogacy arrangements, to meet in order to assess every member of the agreement, including the husband or a boyfriend of a potential surrogate mother, in case if she has one, sometime before the contract is signed. It is necessary that assessments are to be available to every participant of surrogacy arrangement. You should consider making arrangements for ongoing counseling for all three of your throughout the pregnancy. However, it is also possible that your surrogate may request to go on with counseling for some while after the baby is delivered as well. Mind, that you will have to pay for all that as well.
It should also be pointed out, that all extensive lab tasting for you, your partner, in case if you have one, for the surrogate mother and her husband or boyfriend, if there is any, to role out any possible disease before the process of insemination takes place, becomes the first of your many encounters with medical professionals. The future surrogate mother is also to undergo an examination by a physician in order that he would determine that she is able to conceive and carry the baby to term, which brings up the subject of medical insurance. Insurance is another issue to be discussed with the lawyer of yours.
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