22 intermediariessuch as surrogacy agencies fertility

22
Intermediaries—such as surrogacy agencies, fertility clinics, health institutions, and
medical tourism companies—are now regularly involved in the surrogacy industry.
23
Whether
and how these intermediaries are regulated varies considerably between jurisdictions.
24
Agencies
provide services including recruiting, assessing, and selecting surrogates; matching intended
10
Seema Mohapatra, Stateless Babies and Adoption Scams: A Bioethical Analysis of International
Commercial Surrogacy , 30 B
ERKELEY
J. I
NT
’
L
L. 412 (2012).
11
Id. at 135.
12
Richard F. Storrow, Surrogacy American Style , in S
URROGACY
, L
AW
,
AND
H
UMAN
R
IGHTS
191, 200 (Paula
Gerber & Katie O’Byrne, eds., 2015) (citing Diane S. Hinson and Maureen McBrien, Surrogacy Across America ,
F
AMILY
A
DVOCATE
32, 34 (2011)).
13
Hague Conference Document 2014, supra note 3, at 140.
14
Id. at 132.
15
Hague Conference Document 2014, supra note 3, at 130.
16
Id .
17
Id. at 136.
18
Id. at 138.
19
Id .
20
Id .
21
Hague Conference Document 2014, supra note note 3, at 138.
22
Id .
23
Id. at 139.
24
Id .

Surrogacy Law and Policy in the U.S.
Columbia Law School Sexuality & Gender Law Clinic (2016)
`
8
parents with surrogates; and putting intended parents in contact with lawyers and hospitals,
among other services.
25
In the U.S., for example, surrogacy agencies are commonly involved in
pairing intended parents with surrogates and they are usually independent of medical clinics.
26
The life circumstances of the surrogate (i.e., her socio-economic status, level of education
etc.) and the relationship she has with the intended parent/s differs significantly depending upon
the country.
27
For example, in India surrogates are often significantly disadvantaged, and there is
normally very little contact between the surrogate and intended parent/s. However, this is not
reflected in the U.S. where there is generally frequent contact between the surrogate and the
intended parent/s, including at the matching stage, during the pregnancy, and sometimes
following birth.
28
Similarly, the quality of medical care varies tremendously between countries, and it is
likely to be impacted by the level of regulation or self-regulation of the industry.
29
The vast
majority of concerns that have been reported to the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference
on Private International Law relate to India, Thailand, and Ukraine.
30
C. U.S. State Law: Overview of Diverging Positions on Surrogacy
Across the fifty U.S. states legal approaches to surrogacy vary widely, from complete
prohibition to some of the most permissive approaches in the world. Indeed, as Richard F.
Storrow remarks, the U.S. is “a microcosm of the rest of the world, with the whole range of
global attitudes towards surrogacy subsumed within its borders.” 31
Nearly half of the states have some legislation relating to surrogacy. 32 Some states only
have case law governing surrogacy contracts, and some have no regulation at all. 33 Model laws
intended to bring legal uniformity across the country have had limited success. 34 Today,
however, there is little legislative activity seeking to prohibit surrogacy. 35 Storrow notes that the
legislative trend —