New surrogate pregnancy law will be life-changing for infertile New Yorkers
Though New Yorkers could always travel to other states or countries to utilize the technology, doing so was cost-prohibitive for many and made it impractical to attend medical visits and truly experience the milestones of pregnancy, say advocates, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) By Ann Marie Barron | ABarron@siadvance.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — For LGBTQ+ and heterosexual New Yorkers struggling with fertility issues, both emotional and practical doors will open on Monday, Feb. 15, when paid gestational surrogacy once again becomes legal in the state.
The law will allow adults to use the commonplace reproductive technology — long legal in all but three states — to start a family close to home, form a partnership with the surrogate mother and have an active role in the pregnancy, advocates say.
Though New Yorkers could always travel to other states or countries to utilize the technology, doing so was cost-prohibitive for many, and made it impractical to attend medical visits and truly experience the milestones of pregnancy, say advocates, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The new law allows for the experience to be complete and rewarding for all parties, said Parham Zar, a leading expert on third-party reproduction who helped New York lawmakers write the recent legislation legalizing surrogacy.
“The amazing thing for them is to be involved in the process,’’ said Zar, managing director of the California-based Egg Donor & Surrogacy Institute. “All the experiences of being pregnant and having a child should be theirs, as well.’’
Until April 2, 2020, when the measure passed in the state’s budget amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, New York was one of only three states, alongside Louisiana and Michigan, that still outlawed paid gestational surrogacy, in which the mother is not the egg donor — and advocates have been trying to lift the ban since 2012.
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, of Scarsdale, first introduced the bill in 2012 and has been a supporter of the issue since 2006.
The new law provides some of the strictest safeguards in the nation for surrogate mothers, including minimum compensation of $35,000 and various legal protections, in answer to critics, who liken surrogacy to sexual and reproductive servitude for women.
Paid traditional surrogacy, in which the mother is the egg donor, is still illegal in New York. It has been legal in California for more than 25 years.
Zar said the process to become a parent through surrogacy is an emotionally draining one for would-be parents, and the law will lessen that load for New Yorkers.
“The more control they have, the better it is for them emotionally,’’ Zar said. “The expectation is that there should be a great amount of communication [with the surrogate mother] and, of course, there has to be a very close relationship. Sometimes people become much more close than they’ve ever imagined.’’
The law will, frankly, help dreams come true for many, said John, of Manhattan, a single gay man who is in the process of looking for a surrogate mother and egg donor to make his own dream of parenthood come true.
“We all have our wishes of how we’d like things to unfold,’’ said John, who asked that his real name not be published. “For me, I want to go through that process of pregnancy, and see the ultrasound and the birth and be there from the very first moment that child comes into the world. I think about it and I tear up.’’
For John, that’s much more likely to occur if the birth occurs in New York state, easily saving him thousands of dollars in travel expenses and lost wages in the process.
“I think it’s long overdue, especially for such a progressive state,’’ said John, who added he hopes to have his child in his arms by early next year. “We have same-sex marriage, we have many other very progressive laws, this should be one of those.’’
Infertile heterosexual couples who prefer surrogacy to adoption stand to gain, too, he said.
“It’s more viable now,’’ John said. “To have a surrogate mother in New York will definitely be an advantage for all of us.’’