Connecticut Surrogacy Law
While Connecticut law is silent with regard to surrogacy agreements, courts have addressed cases involving such agreements and upheld their terms.
No Connecticut appellate court has explicitly indicated that surrogacy contracts are valid, but cases involving such agreements have been adjudicated and parenting arrangements contemplated by those agreements have been upheld. Additionally, a state superior court has upheld a surrogacy agreement.
The Connecticut Supreme Court, in Doe v. Doe, decided a custody dispute in 1998 between a husband and wife over a child born to a surrogate mother through a traditional surrogacy agreement (in which the surrogate mother is the biological contributor of the egg). Based on a state statutory presumption that it is in the best interests of the child to be in the custody of a biological parent, the Court held that even though the wife was not biologically related to the child, her role in raising the child was enough to overcome the presumption. However, the Court explicitly stated that it was not addressing "whether, or to what extent a surrogate contract, by which the surrogate obligates herself to surrender the child to the child’s father and his spouse, is enforceable." The Connecticut Supreme Court found in the 1998 case of Doe v. Roe, that a trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to approve an adoption agreement that includes a surrogate mother’s consent to termination of parental rights. The surrogate mother had argued that the contract was void because it was against public policy. Nevertheless, the Court explicitly stated that it was not deciding the validity of surrogacy contracts.
In a 2002 case, Vogel v. McBride, a gay male couple had contracted with a surrogate to deliver an embryo developed from an egg fertilized by one of the men’s sperm. The superior court ordered the hospital to place the names of both men on the birth certificate. The court went on to state, "The egg donor agreement and the gestational carrier agreement [were] valid, enforceable, irrevocable and of full legal effect" under the laws of Connecticut.
Citations: Doe v. Doe, 710 A.2d 1297 (Conn. 1998); Doe v. Roe, 717 A.2d 706 (Conn. 1998), Vogel v. McBride, Docket No. FA 02 0471850S (Super. Ct. 2002).
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Last Updated: 9/24/2004