The roots of commercial surrogacy in the United States began in the late 1970′s when a Michigan lawyer began the first surrogacy agency and set out to change the laws to make surrogacy legal. Now, surrogacy is legal in all but a handful of states, even though the specific laws vary from state to state.

So it comes as no surprise that the United States has become the preferred country for surrogacy among international prospective parents.  Some of the primary reasons I am seeing from some of my international clients are as follows:

•    Many European countries restrict couples from being able to explore surrogacy
•    European countries often restrict the number of embryos that can be created
Doesn’t allow for opportunity to create future genetic siblings
Doesn’t provide a back-up plan if the first IVF attempt is not successful
With the cost of IVF being so high, multiple attempts at continued retrievals may exceed financial reserves
Frozen embryo transfers can often defray some of these costs
•    In some countries, like Israel, surrogacy is restricted to married heterosexual couples. So gay couples are coming into the U.S. for help in having biological children of their own.”
•    Advanced technologies are superior in US
•    Economic recession has some U.S.-based clinics offering money back guarantees in the event a successful pregnancy is not achieved
•    Favorable exchange rates have made it attractive in this economy to explore services in the U.S.
•    Some programs are offering comprehensive packages to help international clients locate resources for their surrogacy arrangements in house
Streamlines the process with coordination all in one place
Identifies insurance protections and policies to mitigate financial risk factors during pregnancy or in the unlikely event of a catastrophe
Interpreters available well versed in medical and legal diction
Work closely with immigration attorneys to accomplish the necessary paperwork for visas, passports, birth certificates and social security status.