Surrogacy in Connecticut

By Babygest Staff
Last Update: 04/24/2019

Connecticut is one of the states in the United States that is favorable to surrogacy, so it is included within the purported surrogacy-friendly states with explicit law.

Connecticut comes with a well-regulated legislation by the Connecticut General Assembly and grants court sentences that recognize parents of intent as legal parents of the baby even before birth. They are known as pre-birth orders.

This liberal regulation and Connecticut being very close to New York make Connecticut a highly demanded destination for everyone who needs to resort to this reproductive technique in order to become a parent.

Surrogacy Law in Connecticut

Surrogacy has been regulated in Connecticut by statute since 2011: Conn.Gen.Stat.§7-48a.

According to this law, a parent of intent, which may or may not be biological, can become the legal parent of a child by means of a valid gestation agreement. Consequently, the intended parent who were given declaration of paternity by court can be named legal parent on the birth certificate, regardless of his biological relationship to the child.

One of the advantages of this law is that it allows the access to surrogacy to any family model, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation.

In addition, Connecticut grants a pre-birth order to intended parents for them to be recognized as the baby's legal parents before birth.

This pre-birth order may be granted even if neither party resides in Connecticut, as long as the birth of the baby takes place in this state. However, it is most likely that the surrogate mother will reside in Connecticut to perform the process.

Family models

Connecticut is one of the preferred states within the U.S. for a surrogacy process.

One of the reasons is that it allows access to all family models, without any discrimination or the need for marriage in the case of couples:

  • Heterosexual couples
  • Homosexual couples, whether male or female
  • Single men
  • Single women

Besides, intended parents may contribute their gametes or make use of donor gametes. Pre-birth order can be granted whether one resorts to donor eggs, donor semen or both in any family model.

Acknowledgement of paternity

The Connecticut Bureau of Vital Statistics issues birth certificates naming the intended parents as the child's legal parents whenever there is a court sentence.

Next, we are going to explain all the steps that have to be taken in order to register the baby in the U.S.

Obtaining the birth certificate

After the birth of the baby in Connecticut, an original birth certificate is issued that is filed with the name of the registered birth mother.

Next, if there is a valid gestation contract between the surrogate mother and the intended parents, the Department of Public Health creates a replacement birth certificate with the name of the intended parent(s). Therefore, it is essential to present the pre-birth order before the birth of the child.

Right after issuing the replacement birth certificate, an exact copy is being sent to the bureau of vital statistics in the city of birth.

Those procedures are rather fast. Normally, intended parents are able to obtain a U.S. birth certificate in about a week.

As for homosexual couples, the parents of intention are named on the birth certificate as Parent and Parent, regardless of which of the two has contributed the gamete.

Surrogate mother

According to the statute Conn.Gen.Stat.§7-48a, a surrogate mother without any genetic relationship to the child she has given birth to has no parental rights to that child.

It is important to emphasize that in order for the surrogate mother not to have any parental rights, there must be a valid surrogacy agreement, i.e. a surrogacy contract between the surrogate mother and the intended parents.

This contract must be made in writing and include the following parts:

  • The signatures of each of the parties involved, including the husband of the surrogacy mother if she is married.
  • The obligations of each of the parties.
  • Financial compensation for the surrogate mother.
  • The conditions in case one of the parties wants to terminate the contract.

In this agreement, the surrogate mother undergoes an insemination by means of assisted reproduction techniques in order to become pregnant with the gametes of other people (intended parents or donors).

It should be noted that traditional surrogacy, in which the pregnant woman also provides the eggs, is allowed in Connecticut. This type, however, is not recommended due to the legal problems that may arise.

Gamete donation in Connecticut

The Connecticut Assisted Reproduction Law includes a section which regulates egg and sperm donation: Section 45a-775.

According to this law, the donors can be anonymous or known, but in neither case will the donor have any right to the baby born through fertility treatment.

Considering surrogacy to create a family? If you need a surrogacy treatment to form a family, we recommend you to know all the information about the professionals involved and who will accompany you in the process.

FAQs from users

Is traditional surrogacy allowed in Connecticut?

By Zaira Salvador (embryologist).

Yes, because there is no law that prohibits traditional surrogacy in which the surrogate mother is also the person who provides her eggs. However, the intended parents are not able to get the pre-birth order and have to wait until the delivery of the baby in order for the surrogate mother to renounce her rights as the biological mother.

What benefits does a surrogacy in Connecticut have?

By Zaira Salvador (embryologist).

Being among the surrogacy-friendly Staates, Connecticut has a lot of advantages to offer, which are as follows:

  • The legislation consists of a statute which acknowledges surrogacy.
  • Paternity rights are granted by means of the pre-birth order.
  • All family models have access to surrogacy no matter their marital status or sexual orientation.
  • It is possible to use the eggs and sperms of donors in order to have a baby through surrogacy.

How much is surrogacy in Connecticut?

By Zaira Salvador (embryologist).

The costs of surrogacy depends on various aspects, e.g. if donors are necessary or not, the agency fees, the condiciones of the surrogate mother, and so on. However, Connecticut is not among the most expensive destinations within the U.S., the costs range between 123,000 and 200,000$.

Suggested for you

You might also be interested in surrogacy in other US states. We therefore recommend you the following article: Surrogacy in the US: Is it legal in all 50 States?

If you are interested in performing surrogacy in a different country, read the following article: Surrogacy laws by country- where is it legal?

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