Legal Problems You May Encounter In Your Surrogacy Quest
When you contract a surrogate mother to help you become a parent, your major hope is that you won't hit any snags and your bundle of joy will be with you at the end of the pregnancy term. Unfortunately, things don't always progress that smoothly in the real world; problems tend to crop up, problems such as these five:
Pregnancy Termination Disputes
A situation may rise where one of you wishes to terminate the pregnancy, but the other one objects. For example, if the mother or the child develops a complication, the mother may wish to terminate the pregnancy. At the same time, you may wish to give her the best medical care possible and proceed with the contract. Such a standoff may require the court's intervention to resolve.
Mother's Refusal to Give Up the Child
Some surrogate mothers change their minds and refuse to give up the kid after giving birth or shortly before delivery. Whether she succeeds in withholding the child from you depends on your state's laws. Many states, especially those that have surrogacy laws, will go against the mother and award you the child. Others may side with the biological mother. In any case, there is no guarantee that you will get the child if you don't mount a strong legal challenge to the mother's quest.
Mother's Inability to Adhere to Behavioral Restrictions
A woman's health becomes more delicate when she is pregnant. Therefore, medical professionals have a range of restrictions of behaviors that pregnant mothers should adhere to for their health's sake and for the sake of their unborn child's. Since you obviously want the best health for your child, you won't like it if the surrogate mother doesn't adhere to these restrictions. In some cases, you may have to resort to legal help to force the mother to heed her doctor's medical advice.
Your Inability to Honor the Contract
It's not just the surrogate mother who may initiate problems with the contract; the problems may also originate from your end. For example, you may find it difficult to meet your financial obligations towards the contract if you lose your job a few months into the deal. If that happens, it's understandable that the mother may petition the court for legal redress.
As you can see, there are lots of potential problems that may cloud a surrogate contract. Therefore, it's advisable to consult a lawyer before entering into such a contract, and you should also keep the lawyer abreast of any developments as soon as they arise.