Surrogacy News [8 Important Stories]

How You Can Stay Up to Date on the Latest Surrogacy News 

Surrogacy is rising in popularity for hopeful intended parents and heroic surrogates, but it’s far from new. Here, learn about the biggest moments that made headlines throughout the history of surrogacy, and find out how you can stay up to date on the latest surrogacy news articles. 

For intended parents and surrogates, learning about surrogacy and keeping up with the latest surrogacy news articles and publications provides important education. 

Knowing more about the biggest surrogacy news stories in the long history of surrogacy helps you better understand how the process has shifted over the past several decades.  

Before we take a look at the eight most important surrogacy news stories of all time, you can get more information on surrogacy, how to become a surrogate and how intended parents can start the surrogacy journey by completing our online form

1976: The First Legal Surrogacy Agreement 

Lawyer Noel Keane made surrogacy news by negotiating and creating the first legal surrogacy agreement between intended parents and a surrogate. There was no exchange of financial compensation in the agreement, but Keane would go on to help an estimated 600 surrogates carry and deliver a baby for intended parents.

1978: The First Baby Born Using IVF 

Consultant gynecologist Patrick Steptoe pioneered a technique where an embryo is transferred to a woman’s uterus via in vitro fertilization (IVF). In 1978, the first baby, Louise Brown, was born on July 25 using this method. Not only was this an important precursor to later surrogacy news stories, but it would also change the future of surrogacy as we know it. 

1980: The First Compensated Surrogate 

Elizabeth Kane found her name littered across surrogacy news articles when she became the first legally compensated surrogate in the U.S. Kane was paid $11,500 for agreeing to carry a baby as a traditional surrogate.

1985: The First Successful Gestational Surrogacy 

One of the most impactful surrogacy news stories in history is the first successful gestational surrogacy, which took place in 1985.  

In gestational surrogacy, embryos are created through IVF using the intended parents’ or donors’ gametes, then transferred to the surrogate. This process removes the biological connection between the surrogate and the child and eliminates the chance of a surrogate changing her mind after the child’s birth.  

Gestational surrogacy changed the landscape for intended parents and surrogates and created an opportunity for the advent of surrogacy agencies and professionals. 

Want to get more information on gestational surrogacy and how it differs from traditional surrogacy? Our online contact form gets you connected to an adoption specialist ready to answer all of your important questions.

1986: “Baby M.” 

The story of “Baby M” is widely considered the biggest surrogacy news story the industry has ever seen. “Baby M” is the story of Mary Beth Whitehead, who agreed to be a traditional surrogate for Bill and Elizabeth Stern but later decided to maintain her parental rights.  

As the biological mother, Whitehead changed her mind after the birth of Baby M, and it wasn’t until the New Jersey Supreme Court awarded the Sterns custody in 1986 that she would give the baby to the intended parents but would retain her parental rights. 

“Baby M” caused a wave of surrogacy articles and studies addressing the risks of traditional surrogacy when the surrogate is the biological mother of the child.

It also jumpstarted legislators and lawyers to create contracts and agreements between prospective parents and surrogates to protect parental rights. 

Additionally, “Baby M” validated the benefits of gestational surrogacy and how it lessens the risk by removing any genetic link between the surrogate and the child.  

1990: Johnson vs. Calvert 

Gestational surrogacy made surrogacy news again in 1990 when a gestational carrier with no biological connection to the child decided she wanted to keep the baby. The intended parents produced a signed document that was considered a legally binding agreement supported by the court in Johnson vs. Calvert. 

The signed agreement was ruled a valid document protecting the intended parents’ parental rights, highlighting the importance of having a sound legal contract that clearly outlines each party’s roles and responsibilities in the process.

To this day, surrogacy is. Therefore, we strongly encourage prospective intended parents and surrogates to fill out this online form to connect with a trusted and experienced surrogacy specialist who can provide the necessary guidance throughout this process. 

You can also check out this surrogacy news article on Johnson vs. Calvert for a more detailed background. 

2021: New York Ends Ban on Compensated Surrogacy 

One of two powerful surrogacy news stories to come out of 2021 was New York state ending its ban on compensated surrogacy contracts. 

A colossal breakthrough for surrogacy, the end of the ban in the state of New York instantly become of the most important moments in surrogacy news history. 

You can read more by taking this link to one of the many articles on surrogacy in New York when its ban on commercial surrogacy was lifted.

2021: The State Department Begins Approval of U.S. Citizenship 

In March of 2021, more articles on surrogacy hit newsstands when The U.S. State Department began approving citizenship to children born abroad to same-sex or heterosexual intended parents through surrogacy. 

Under the policy, the child must be born abroad to married parents, and at least one of the parents has to be a U.S. citizen.

In addition, one parent having biological ties to the child is another important requirement under the new policy. 

In addition to reading historical surrogacy articles, staying up to date on the latest surrogacy news and articles about surrogacy helps spread awareness and educate intended parents and surrogates on the life-changing benefits of surrogacy. 

How to Stay Up to Date with Surrogacy News Articles 

Want more options for keeping up with surrogacy news? 

Check out this page that includes publications and other sources that can provide you with the latest surrogacy news, such as: 

Ready to begin your own surrogacy journey? Intended parents and surrogates deserve to work with a trusted, ethical and specialized surrogacy agency.

The support and services available to you make for a safer surrogacy journey with fewer risks and a greater chance of success. 

By filling out one of these forms, you can connect with a surrogacy specialist. They can provide you with more information about becoming an intended parent or gestational carrier — and forever changing your life in the process.