Senate approves bill for surrogate mother contracts

Senators passed the measure today by a vote of 42-25. The bill establishes a legal framework for "gestational carrier arrangements," in which a surrogate becomes pregnant through an embryo transfer.

The bill sets certain requirements for surrogate mothers, including that they be at least 21 years of age and are able to pass medical and mental health evaluations.

It also establishes that when a child is born the intended parents immediately have legal custody.

Sen. Linda Higgins, DFL-Minneapolis, says the bill also defines the agreement between the two parties. "It stipulates that the intended parents must contribute either egg or sperm to the arrangement, and that the surrogate can make no genetic contribution to the embryo," Higgins said. "In other words, the surrogate cannot be the parent of the child."

Higgins says there are already an estimated 50 to 100 surrogate arrangements every year in Minnesota.

Critics of the bill, mostly Republicans, argued that the measure fails to prevent abortions and raises many other ethical questions.

The bill has not yet come up for action in the House.

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