March 31, 2025
Exciting news for intended parents and surrogates: Michigan has officially transitioned from a red-light state (where surrogacy is prohibited) to a dark-green state (where surrogacy is permitted throughout the state, pre-birth orders are issued, and both parents are named on the birth certificate)! With Michigan’s passage of The Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act in March 2024, Michigan now fully permits gestational surrogacy, ensuring that intended parents are recognized as a child’s sole legal parents as soon as the child is born. This groundbreaking law, set to take effect on April 1, 2025, also mandates that the State Registrar issue an amended birth certificate consistent with the Court’s parentage judgment order that names each intended parent (and not the surrogate) as “Parent.”
This change reflects a growing trend in the US, where more and more states are becoming surrogacy-friendly. Currently, 26 jurisdictions (including the District of Columbia) have statutes that explicitly permit surrogacy; in 24 others, courts recognize surrogacy as lawful although there is no statute. Louisiana now remains the only red-light state where surrogacy is expressly prohibited (except in extremely limited circumstances for straight couples).
This represents enormous progress for all prospective parents. The progress is particularly impressive for same-sex couples. In 2014, only 18 states were surrogacy-friendly for married same-sex couples. In 2016, only 2 years later — but after the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages are protected by the Constitution — that number jumped to 32 states! Now, with Michigan joining the ranks of surrogacy-friendly states, the number has risen to 50 – 49 states plus the District of Columbia. As noted above, this represents every state except Louisiana. That is a lot of progress in just over a decade!
The expansion of surrogacy-friendly laws is incredible news for prospective parents hoping to grow their families through surrogacy. In particular, where states expressly codify the right to family expansion through surrogacy, intended parents and surrogates can expect greater clarity, security, and accessibility. Moreover, as states embrace collaborative family building and protect surrogates and intended parents, the US becomes increasingly welcoming for surrogacy journeys, even for international parents seeking to grow their families through assisted reproduction.
Do you want to see where a particular state stands on surrogacy? Check out our interactive US surrogacy map today.