Bill to enforce surrogacy contracts heads to full Louisiana Senate

Legislation that would enforce contracts between parents and the surrogate mothers carrying their children is on its way to the full Louisiana Senate for what could be a final vote on the issue.

The Senate Judiciary B Committee, without objection, advanced Tuesday the measure, which already has passed the House.

If the full Senate approves the legislation without making any changes, it would next go to the governor. Gov. John Bel Edwards hasn’t decided yet if he would sign the bill into law.

Opposed To Surrogacy Contracts

House Bill 1102 was intensely opposed by Right-to-Life groups, Louisiana Family Forum and the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops.

They argued that contracting surrogates undermines the state’s position on abortion rights and creates ethical problems.

Similar legislation was approved in 2013 and 2014, but both those bills were vetoed by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal, who sided with religious opponents.

Reproductive Contracts Between A Surrogate And The Intended Parents

The measure, sponsored by Lafayette Republican Rep. Stuart Bishop, sets a framework for reproductive contracts between a woman who would carry the child to term and the parents who would take the baby at birth. Such contracts are unenforceable under state law.

To become a surrogate under HB1102, a woman must meet a lengthy list of requirements, such as being between 25 to 35 years old and having already given birth to at least one child.

It requires the gestational mother to attend counseling. And would clearly set into law that the contracting parents’ names go on the baby’s birth certificate.

Katherine Smith testified that she and her husband, Sen. Gary Smith, the Montz Democrat who chairs the committee, could biologically produce the eggs and sperm necessary, but could not conceive.

Upon learning that Louisiana had no contractual protections, they went to California to have their child carried by a surrogate mother.

Their second child was also carried by a surrogate.

She showed a Mother’s Day crayon drawing from her son, Henry, of the four of them in their house.

“This is really what this bill means,” Katherine Smith said. “It’s about creating families.”

“This bill goes to great lengths to protect all parties involved,” Gary Smith said.

“It does not protect unborn human beings to the degree we believe a pro life state like Louisiana should,” said Deanna Wallace legislative director of Louisiana Right to Life.

The procedure requires the transfer of an embryo into the carrier’s uterus.

Often several embryos are implanted to increase the odds and sometimes the woman becomes pregnant with multiple babies.

At that point the surrogate is sometimes pressured to abort the additional fetuses in order to give one a better chance of survival, Wallace said.

“Legitimizing surrogacy in our state will expand an unworthy industry,” said Alana Newman, of Lake Charles.

She said the surrogacy industry is more interested in making money contracting with parents and surrogates, rather than tackling the problems of infertility.

She said she was donor-conceived, runs a blog that collects the stories of surrogate births, and is director of the Coalition Against Reproductive Trafficking.

She said the legislation uses dehumanizing language. “A birth mother becomes gestational carrier,” Newman said.

Charlotte Bergeron, president of the Baton Rouge Chapter of Louisiana Right to Life Federation, testified that while the bill would not allow compensation, it doesn’t address payments to immediate family members.

Families have been known to coerce their daughters and sisters, particularly in countries that already allow surrogacy contracts, she said.

Republican Sen. Norby Chabert, of Houma, said that the legislation has been vetted and rewritten over the years.

“It’s a better bill,” Chabert said. “It’s thoughtful, addresses a lot of the concerns of the opponents and will better our state.”

Follow Mark Ballard on Twitter, @MarkBallardCNB. For more coverage of government and politics, follow our Politics Blog at http://blogs.theadvocate.com/politicsblog.

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