TRADITIONAL SURROGACY

In Florida, a traditional surrogacy is also identified as a Pre-planned adoption. A traditional surrogate carries her own biological child create through artificial insemination with the commissioning father’s genetic material. Like a gestational surrogacy, Florida law requires that the parties enter into a contract prior to the conception of the child. The surrogate must be over 18 years and agree to submit to reasonable medical evaluations and treatment and comply with reasonable medical instructions on her prenatal care. Unlike a gestational surrogacy, the surrogate`s consent to surrender her rights to the child is subject to a 2-day revocation period.

The traditional surrogate may receive reasonable living expenses, lost wages and compensation for inconvenience, discomfort and medical risk during the term of her pregnancy and the post partum period. All expenses are reviewed by the court.

The traditional surrogacy relationship is a hybrid, a surrogacy and an adoption. The process to establish the commissioning couple`s rights incorporates the two theories of law. Immediately upon the child`s birth and the results of parentage testing establishing the commissioning father`s paternity of the child, the court enters an order affirming the commissioning father`s parental status as the biological and legal father. Then, the adoption law takes over and the commissioning mother files a petition to adopt the child as the child`s stepparent.

While a traditional surrogacy is often less expensive than a gestational surrogacy, a traditional surrogacy contains an increased level of risk. The surrogate has the right to refuse to surrender her parental rights to the child and mandate that the commissioning couple enter into a shared parenting arrangement.