Up until recently, surrogacy in New York was limited to arrangements that were altruistic and uncompensated (often referred to as compassionate surrogacy), making it illegal for New York gestational carriers to be paid for their time and effort. However, New York recently passed new regulations that not only make paid gestational surrogacy legal but also provide some of the most stringent protections for surrogates in the nation.

Starting in February of 2021, New Yorkers will be able to arrange and implement paid surrogacy contracts. The law includes a bill of rights for surrogates, which stipulates that the minimum compensation for surrogates is $35,000 and that health and life insurance must be provided by the intended parents for a year after the surrogate has given birth. The law also establishes criteria for creating surrogacy contracts that protect all parties in the process.

Surrogacy is an agreement between a surrogate mother – who is not biologically related to the baby she will carry during pregnancy – and the intended parents of that baby. The agreement is also called a gestational agreement. A surrogate mother provides a womb for a baby’s gestation in exchange for financial compensation.

The surrogacy process can be a positive and rewarding experience for both surrogate mother and prospective families – especially when a surrogacy agency is employed to manage the emotional, legal and financial aspects of the journey. Many women choose to become surrogates because they love the idea of helping a couple who can’t become pregnant bring a new baby into this world. Hence, there is a lot of loving emotion and hope that goes into surrogacy.

The cost of a surrogacy journey in New York is between $100,000 and $125,000. This includes the agency fee, surrogate psychological evaluation, surrogate legal consultation, escrow management fee, and surrogate compensation package. This does not include the cost of the IVF cycle at your fertility physician’s office or the cost of an egg donor cycle.

Currently, we do not recruit surrogates from New York but that may change in the near future. There is legislature being proposed in 2020 to lift the surrogacy ban so stay tuned!

Because commercial surrogacy is prohibited in New York, it’s important to choose a surrogacy agency that is able to find and screen qualified gestational surrogates in neighboring states. The Surrogacy Source is one of the largest surrogacy agencies in the country, with ample resources to make surrogacy a possibility for heterosexual and LGBT couples and singles who live in New York state. We invite you to interview our staff in person, and ask any questions you have about becoming or working with a surrogate. We’re confident you’ll select our surrogacy agency once you meet our team and learn about the potentially rewarding experience that awaits you.