The first thing I did when I decided to become a surrogate is what most people nowadays would do - I went to the web. I searched and searched all over online. The agencies I came up with the most were in California. What I learned was that not all states have the laws that support surrogacy. For example, in Michigan, it is technically illegal for surrogates to get compensated. In many states the actual parents of the baby cannot even have their names on the birth certificate until they officially "adopt" the baby from the surrogate. That's crazy! California seems to be the most surro-friendly state out there and their agencies are huge. So I placed a few calls with them.
Well, it was like a meat-market out there. Totally cold and automated responses to all of my questions - like they want to get you in and get you out and get their money. I just assumed at the time maybe that's just how agencies were. After looking over my application, they called me and confirmed one of my answers. The question was under what circumstance would you not want to work with a couple? Well, my answer was that I wanted to work with a heterosexual couple. Not that I have anything whatsoever against the gay and lesbian community, I just thought if I was going to help bring a baby into the world I would want it to have a mom and a dad. Well, the Cali. agency said if that were the case it would take over a year to match me with a couple. A YEAR? I was really disappointed. But luckily I had also found an agency through an online forum called Family Source in Illinois. They called me back right away and were so helpful and friendly towards me. They said they could match me right away. So that was it - Brandon and me met with the owner of the agency, who had a surrogate herself to create her family. She was just wonderful!!! So I filled out the application and sat and waited for a response.
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Indeed, the surrogacy is really supported at the legal level in some states in the USA, in Russia, in India, in Ukraine. But is has different level of legality. The surrogate mother in Russia has the right to make her decisions concerning the child she gave birth to (whether to keep it or to give him or her back to the parents). In India, the child born within the Indian borders is considered automatically as Indian citizen. In Ukraine the biological parents of the child born with the help of the surrogacy are considered as his or her legal parents. In the USA such kind of treatment is the most expensive one comparing to the other countries.
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