Consider seeing a counselor that specializes in LGBTQ family building. Is surrogacy legal in your state? What are the laws regarding intended verses birth parents and surrogacy compensation in your state? Lastly-but most importantly-make sure to have a support system in place for you and your partner, because the surrogacy process can be stressful with its overwhelming number of decisions. Also important to consider are the state-by-state laws around surrogacy. You will also need to consider the financial commitment of the process, including understanding your insurance benefits, so that you can plan accordingly.
At the least, you’ll need a reproductive attorney to make sure your rights, your child’s rights, and your surrogate are all legally protected. You may also want to find a surrogacy agency to match you with a gestational surrogate, and to help you iron out everything from the legal paperwork to how many times per week you’ll FaceTime with this person. First, you’ll need to pick a trusted fertility clinic in order to start fertility testing and begin the IVF process. There are a dizzying number of elements and moving parts to consider when preparing for surrogacy, including the cost, the law, institutional support, and the emotional toll. This is a 15-20 minute read, and we know that you're busy.
In order to help you understand, we’re breaking down the process step by step in order to give you everything you need to know about surrogacy. But the science of surrogacy is fascinating, and staying focused on the interesting details of the process can help you persevere, despite the length and cost of the journey. For gay men, however, there are additional pieces to the IVF puzzle: choosing an egg donor, a gestational carrier, and deciding upon which father will share a biological link to the child. Through a process called gestational surrogacy, where a third-party gestational carrier- also known as a surrogate-will agree to carry your child to term, it is possible to have a child who shares your family’s genes.įar from weird science, the procedure of fertilizing egg with sperm in a laboratory dish and then transferring the resulting embryo into a healthy uterus, also known as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), is common. But when you yearn for the deep love that comes with the pitter patter of little feet, and the exponential love that it can bring between you and your partner, the journey to have a child can be one of possibilities and optimism. For gay couples, the decision to have a biologically related child through assisted reproductive technology (ART) is often fraught with uncertainties, complications, expenses, and emotions.