One of the greatest joys, thus far, in my legal career, has been the ability to create families. My firm’s partnership with a local surrogacy agency provides me with this opportunity on a regular basis.
I am sure that many of you are familiar with the concept behind a gestational agreement, whether through a peculiar story you heard on the news or the recent articles in the San Antonio Express newspaper, but you may be unaware of the terms, process and technicalities. Don’t let the technical words and long paperwork scare you; the legal process can actually be quite easy and stress-free. I will hopefully clear up all your misconceptions today.
The first step to understanding the gestational procedure is to know and trust that Texas is a gestational friendly state. The laws are in place to aide parents in their pursuit to create a family, not to hinder it. Thus far, I have been able to help not only couples here in Texas, but couples from other countries, such as Mexico and Honduras. The laws are simply in place to protect both the intended parents and the gestational parents.
But now you may be asking yourself, who exactly are these “parents”? The intended parents are the mother and father who have initiated the gestational process. They are the parents who intend to love and care for the child, or in some cases, children, after he/she is born. The gestational parents are the woman carrying the child for the intended parents and her husband, if that term applies. A gestational mother does not need to be married to participate in the gestational process.
I am often asked why I use the term “gestational” rather than “surrogate” and the answer is quite easy. A surrogate is a woman who carries the child for another. By traditional standards, a surrogate does not have any limitations on her relationship with the child. In other words, a surrogate could share genetic material with the child she is carrying. A gestational mother cannot have any genetic relationship with the child; a gestational mother is simply there to provide a womb for the development of the child. Texas only allows gestational agreements with gestational parents. You cannot have a traditional surrogate mother in Texas.
Why? You may be asking, and again the answer is quite simple. Establishing clear boundaries and keeping a clear trail of genetic connection, prohibits a gestational mother from coming back later and trying to exert her rights to the child after birth. In Texas, a gestational mother has no rights to the child she is carrying. Texas laws keep the roles of each participant to the gestational process clearly defined.
Gestational agreements and the gestational procedure is a fascinating and wonderful way to bring a child into this world. I thoroughly enjoy working with each of these families and assisting them as they take the first step into one of the most important roles they will ever play.
Photo credit, MeagenJean
