Michigan will become the last US state to decriminalize surrogacy contracts

LANSING, Mich. — Rachael Lang and her husband share the same last name as their biological daughter, but are not listed on her birth certificate. Michigan’s ban on paid surrogacy contracts — the only state with such a law — has forced the couple to spend nearly a year trying to adopt their biological daughter. “So that just makes me feel very conflicted and very sad about what I am on a piece of paper to her.” Michigan is currently the only state in the nation where surrogacy contracts are criminally banned, according to the governor’s office. The Michigan Fertility Alliance applauded the Senate’s passage of the bills Tuesday, saying in a statement that it ensures all “children born in Michigan by fertility treatments and surrogacy have access to a secure legal relationship with their parents.” Several Republicans spoke out against the package of bills on Tuesday prior to the Senate vote, and two Republicans sided with the Democratic majority on all nine of the bills. One Republican, Sen. Thomas Albert, said the bills could “open Pandora’s Box,” and that it “fundamentally redefines the family.” Democratic state Sen. Stephanie Chang said during a speech in favor of the bills that they were about “promoting families” and ensuring “that Michiganders can fulfill their dreams of parenthood.” The Lang family, who is still attempting to adopt their one-year-old, are among those who could potentially grow their family under the new law.