There is no South Dakota case law or state statute that prohibits Intended Parent(s) from pursuing either gestational surrogacy or traditional surrogacy.
Can a parentage order be obtained for the following?
Although traditional surrogacy isn’t prohibited in South Dakota, many attorneys and agencies advise against it due to the increased legal risks involved because a surrogate legally can’t be forced to give up her parental rights.
Who can be declared as the parent(s) of a child from a surrogate via a court parentage order?
– Both Intended Parent(s) can be named on the parentage order.
– Only a genetic Intended Parent can be named on the parentage order. A non-genetic Intended Parent will need to establish parentage via a second or stepparent adoption following birth.
Intended Parent(s) may be listed as Parent-Parent.
There are no statutes or case law in South Dakota that address the rights of an egg, sperm, or embryo donor over the donated gametes or a resulting child.
Legal and medical steps involved in the surrogacy process may differ from case to case. Please speak with your agency and attorneys about how the process might look for you.
Although there’s no statute or case law addressing surrogacy contracts, gestational surrogacy contracts in South Dakota have been routinely recognized and enforced by the state. It is less certain if traditional surrogacy contracts would be enforced given the genetic connection between the surrogate and the child, although there is no case law to refer to.
Independent counsel is strongly recommended, but not required, for all parties involved in a surrogacy agreement.
Because of the lack of legal restrictions, International intended Parent(s) may find doing surrogacy in South Dakota a relatively straightforward process. International Intended Parent(s) will have additional legal steps to complete before their return home regarding their country’s immigration and citizen laws that impact the child. It’s imperative the international Intended Parent(s) speak with an experienced attorney in their home country about their situation. The law of more than one country will need to be considered if the Intended Parent(s) are citizens or residents of more than one country.
Adoption is required for an international same-sex couple to receive a birth certificate with only the Intended Parent(s) names on it.
Passports are regulated at the federal level in the United States. To learn more about the process of receiving a US passport, visit Travel.State.gov.
Kenneth Tschetter
Tschetter & Adams
919 S. Remington Place Suite 100
Sioux Falls, SD 57108
(605) 367-1013
tschetteradams.com
Emily Gehling
Dakota Surrogacy
101 S Reid St #307
Sioux Falls, SD 57103
(605) 937-8920
egehling@dakotasurrogacy.com
www.dakotasurrogacy.com
The content contained in this website is provided for informational purposes only. Content contained herein may or may not reflect the most current legal information on the subject; accordingly, this website is not promised to be correct or complete at any given time. Outcomes referenced should not be interpreted as an indication of future outcomes. Love & Kindness Surrogacy explicitly disclaims all liability for actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this website.
This website does not constitute a replacement for legal advice or counsel. Always consult an attorney before beginning the surrogacy process.
Last updated October 2019