Legality of Surrogacy in Rhode Island
Rhode Island has a specific law governing gestational surrogacy. Under this law, gestational surrogacy in Rhode Island follows the typical two part legal process of other New England states.
The process begins with a written legal contract between you and your surrogate (and her spouse, if she has one). The surrogate and intended parents need to be at least 21 years old to enter into the contract, and you all need to have completed your medical and mental health screenings. In addition, one or both intended parents must reside in the United States.
There are certain provisions that must go in the contract for it to conform to the law. Payment of compensation to the surrogate is allowed under Rhode Island law.
One interesting Rhode Island requirement is that the surrogate has the right to use healthcare providers of her own choosing. It’s really important that you match with a surrogate who is on the same page as you with regards to the type of providers and facilities to be used (such as midwife versus obstetrician or birthing center versus hospital). At New England Surrogacy, this is actually part of our matching criteria for all the states where we operate, whether or not required by state law.
You will review the contract with your own attorney, and the surrogate will do the same with her attorney. When everyone is satisfied with the contract, it is signed (with a witness) and your fertility clinic is notified that the embryo transfer can be scheduled. In addition, the attorneys will sign a document stating that the contract was prepared according to the law and this declaration can later be relied upon for preparation of the birth certificate (this is handy to have in case your court paperwork gets delayed).
When it comes to court paperwork, your attorney will typically pursue a court order called a “Birth Order”. This is Rhode Island’s version of the Pre-Birth Order, or PBO. The Birth Order will typically be obtained during the second trimester of the surrogate pregnancy. Your lawyer has a choice of whether to do this in the Family Court or Superior Court. This Birth Order solidifies your legal parentage and designates the contents of the birth certificate (in other words, you are listed as the parents and your surrogate’s name does not appear on the birth certificate).