A surrogacy contract is the most important legal document in your journey, securing your rights and financial protection as a surrogate in Arkansas. By tackling all the "what-ifs" upfront, this roadmap ensures everyone is on the same page, allowing you to focus completely on the pregnancy itself.
In this guide, we'll walk you through what's included in a comprehensive Arkansas surrogacy contract and how agency support makes the process stress-free.
We’re ready to help you navigate this process with confidence. Call 1-800-236-7846 to learn more about how we protect our surrogates.
What Goes into an Arkansas Surrogacy Contract?
A surrogacy contract often called a Gestational Carrier Agreement governs the entire relationship between you and the intended parents. A robust Arkansas surrogacy contract needs to protect all parties by including these key areas:
Details the full compensation, including the base fee, monthly allowances, reimbursement for lost wages (for you and your spouse), and the specific protocol for handling all medical bills to ensure you are never out-of-pocket. Outlines the plan for legally establishing the intended parents as the child's parents, often streamlined in Arkansas through a PBO. Agreements on the number of embryos for transfer (typically one), selection of the IVF clinic and OB-GYN, and expectations for invasive testing or vaccinations. Reasonable guidelines covering travel restrictions (like avoiding Zika zones), and exposure to environmental hazards. A formal acknowledgment of potential complications from IVF medications, embryo transfer, and pregnancy. Clarifies primary insurance coverage and confirms that intended parents cover all deductibles, co-pays, and uncovered medical costs. Carefully negotiated clauses for difficult decisions regarding genetic abnormalities or multi-fetal pregnancies, tailored to comply with Arkansas' laws. Establishes rules for online sharing, public announcements, and protecting the privacy of the intended parents and the child.
By outlining these details early, the contract serves as a comprehensive roadmap, removing ambiguity and preventing difficult conversations down the road.
Legal Clearance: The Final Step before Transfer
You can’t move to the medical phase of surrogacy—specifically the start of injectable medications or the embryo transfer—until "legal clearance" is issued. This is simply a formal notification sent by the attorneys to the IVF clinic, confirming that the surrogacy contract is signed and legally binding.
We prioritize this step to protect you from undergoing medical procedures without a guarantee of compensation or legal protection. To achieve legal clearance and move forward, the following steps must be completed:
The intended parents' attorney drafts the initial contract based on the terms discussed during the matching phase. You review the contract with your own separate attorney. This is important. We make sure you’ve got an advocate looking out solely for your interests, not the parents'. At American Surrogacy, your legal fees are fully covered by the intended parents, ensuring you have high-quality representation without the cost. If there are terms you aren't comfortable with—maybe a specific travel restriction, a cap on lost wages, or the timing of payments—your attorney will negotiate changes with the parents' attorney to ensure the agreement is fair. Once everyone agrees to the terms, the contract is signed and notarized. This often happens digitally, but depending on the attorneys, wet signatures may be required. The attorneys send a formal clearance letter to the fertility clinic. This effectively "green lights" the medical process, allowing the clinic to issue your medication protocol and schedule the transfer.
We carefully manage this process to ensure no medical risks are taken until your legal and financial protections are firmly in place.
Can Surrogacy Contracts Be Enforced in Arkansas?
One of the most common questions surrogates ask is, "What if the parents change their minds and I'm left with a baby?" Conversely, intended parents often worry, "What if she decides to keep the baby?" These are natural concerns, but legally, they are unfounded in Arkansas.
Arkansas is considered a "surrogacy-friendly" state, with Arkansas Code S 9-10-201 expressly permitting surrogacy. Unlike states with ambiguous laws, Arkansas statutes and courts generally uphold the validity of these contracts. As long as an experienced reproductive attorney drafts the agreement correctly, it is a legally enforceable document.
The courts respect the core intent: the surrogate intends to carry the child for the parents, and the parents intend to raise the child. This legal backing offers a layer of security, ensuring the rights and responsibilities in your contract will be honored.
What Happens if a Contract Is Breached?
A "breach" means a party failed to follow the rules outlined in the surrogacy contract. Breaches range from minor (forgetting a prenatal vitamin) to major (smoking or failing to pay the surrogate). Most potential disputes are resolved quickly with agency mediation.
If intended parents breach the contract, such as by failing to make scheduled payments, the agreement typically allows services to be withheld or for legal action to recover funds. Crucially, a breach does not absolve them of parental responsibilities; they remain the legal parents and cannot refuse to accept custody.
Conversely, if a surrogate breaches the agreement through harmful behavior or refusing medical care, she may forfeit future compensation or be required to reimburse the parents for incurred costs. While parents could potentially sue for damages in extreme situations, this is rare in healthy, agency-managed journeys.
Fair Surrogacy Compensation in Arkansas and Payment Structure
Negotiating compensation is often the biggest part of the contract phase. In Arkansas, "commercial" or compensated surrogacy is legal. There’s no statutory cap on what a surrogate can be paid; it is a matter of mutual agreement between you and the intended parents.
To ensure you receive consistent and protected financial support, your contract will break down payments into these key areas:
- Base Compensation: This fee covers your time, physical effort, and risk. It is usually paid in 9 or 10 equal monthly installments beginning after a heartbeat is confirmed via ultrasound, ensuring you have a steady stream of income throughout the pregnancy.
- Pre-Pregnancy Payments: These fees cover the milestones leading up to pregnancy, such as the mock cycle, the start of injectable medications (which compensates you for the physical discomfort), and the embryo transfer fee itself.
- Allowances: Monthly stipends specifically designated for miscellaneous expenses like over-the-counter meds, mileage to local appointments, maternity clothes, and comfort items mean you aren't tracking receipts for every small purchase.
- Event-Based Payments: Additional compensation kicks in for specific medical events, such as a C-section (to cover the longer recovery), invasive procedures (like amniocentesis), or carrying multiples (twins), acknowledging the increased physical demand.
The Role of Escrow
A vital part of your contract is the requirement for an escrow account. We ensure the intended parents deposit the funds before you start medical procedures. An independent, insured escrow company manages this account, releasing payments to you on the strict schedule agreed upon in the contract.
This ensures you never have to ask the parents for money directly—removing a potential source of awkwardness—and provides security knowing the funds are already there, regardless of the parents' financial changes during the journey.
Medical Decisions and Control During Pregnancy
Who calls the shots during the pregnancy? This is a delicate balance between a surrogate's rights and the parents' desires. Legally and ethically, you retain bodily autonomy. No contract can force you to undergo a surgery or medical procedure against your will.
However, the contract serves as a binding agreement on how you intend to handle medical situations based on mutual trust. Outlining your agreement to follow the doctor's orders regarding the health of the fetus and the pregnancy, the contract essentially says, "I agree to act in the best interest of this pregnancy."
If you and the intended parents disagree on a medical course of action—for example, the choice of a specialist or a recommendation for bed rest—the contract usually designates a tie-breaker. In almost all cases, this tie-breaker is the medical recommendation of the treating physician, ensuring decisions are based on medical science rather than personal preference.
Termination and Selective Reduction
This section explains how to approach emotionally charged decisions like termination and selective reduction. Surrogacy contracts typically state that pregnancy may be terminated if the fetus has a severe genetic abnormality or the surrogate's life is in danger.
Because Arkansas currently enforces a near-total abortion ban, even a contractually requested termination for a genetic defect might not be possible within the state. We ensure your contract addresses this reality by including specific travel clauses and contingency plans. These sections outline your willingness to travel to a state where the procedure is legal if necessary, and what steps will be taken if travel is impossible.
Selective reduction—reducing the number of fetuses in a multi-fetal pregnancy to increase health outcomes—must also be addressed in compliance with state laws. We facilitate these difficult, but crucial, conversations before the contract is signed to ensure ethical alignment between you and the intended parents.
Lifestyle Clauses: Travel, Diet, and Daily Life Considerations
Intended parents naturally want to protect their future child, and the contract allows them to set some boundaries to mitigate risk. However, we advocate for restrictions that are reasonable and respectful of your daily life.
Most contracts restrict travel during the final weeks of pregnancy—usually from 24 to 32 weeks onward—to ensure you are near your delivery hospital and established medical team. International travel or travel to Zika-affected areas is almost always prohibited from the time of transfer to protect the pregnancy from infectious diseases that could harm fetal development.
Regarding diet and habits, the contract will typically include guidelines on:
- Substance Use: You will generally agree to avoid alcohol, nicotine, and illicit drugs, which is standard for any pregnancy.
- Dietary Restrictions: The contract may also restrict certain foods, like unpasteurized cheese or high-mercury fish, and specific activities, such as cleaning litter boxes due to the risk of toxoplasmosis.
- Intimacy: You will typically be required to abstain from sexual intercourse during the embryo transfer phase. This helps prevent infection and avoids a "superfetation" pregnancy—a rare event where a surrogate could conceive a pregnancy with her own egg while simultaneously carrying the surrogate pregnancy.
These clauses aren't meant to control your life but to maximize the chances of a healthy baby and a smooth journey.
Delivery Plans and Post-Birth Expectations
The birth is the moment everyone anticipates, and the contract ensures it goes smoothly by setting clear expectations. It explicitly states who is allowed in the delivery room, typically prioritizing the intended parents.
The contract also usually mandates that the intended parents hold the baby immediately after birth (medical conditions permitting) for bonding. Once the umbilical cord is cut, the contract reiterates that all medical decisions for the child are the sole responsibility of the intended parents.
A major legal component is the Pre-Birth Order (PBO). Arkansas law allows attorneys to obtain this court order during pregnancy, declaring the intended parents as the legal parents.
Arkansas provides a streamlined path for married intended parents (heterosexual or same-sex) to be named on the birth certificate immediately. For unmarried couples, the process may be more complex, and the contract will outline the specific legal path required to securely establish parentage.
Insurance Requirements for Surrogacy Journeys
Medical bills for a pregnancy can be astronomical, so the contract must clarify who pays for what to avoid financial stress. A professional review will first determine if your current health insurance policy covers a surrogate pregnancy. If it does, you will use it, and the intended parents will pay any deductibles, co-pays, or out-of-network costs.
If your insurance has a "surrogacy exclusion"—which is increasingly common—the intended parents are contractually required to purchase a separate, surrogacy-specific policy for you.
Beyond health coverage, it is standard practice for the contract to require intended parents to purchase additional protections:
- Life Insurance: A policy for the surrogate to protect her family’s financial future in the rare event of a tragedy.
- Loss of Reproductive Organ Insurance: This provides a lump sum payment if you suffer a complication that results in a hysterectomy or loss of fertility, offering additional security for the risks you are taking.
Agency vs. Independent Surrogacy: Legal and Emotional Considerations
You might see ads for "independent" surrogacy journeys and wonder if you can skip the agency to save time or money. While it is legally possible to do an independent journey in Arkansas, it comes with significant risks.
In an independent journey, you are responsible for vetting the parents yourself and may have to awkwardly negotiate your own pay directly with them. Furthermore, if the intended parents run out of money or stop paying medical bills, you may be left unprotected if escrow wasn't set up correctly or fully funded.
When you work with American Surrogacy, the experience is vastly different. We rigorously screen intended parents to ensure they are financially and emotionally ready before you ever meet them. We handle the awkward money talks, ensuring the contract and escrow are managed professionally.
If a dispute arises regarding a contract term—like a disagreement over a travel request—your specialist is there to mediate, preserving the relationship. The contract is the safety net, but we are the team that holds the net, ensuring it never breaks.
Navigate Arkansas Surrogacy Law with Confidence
Your surrogacy contract is the foundation of a successful journey. It balances your generosity with necessary legal protections, ensuring that your financial stability and bodily autonomy are respected every step of the way.
Don’t navigate these complex legal waters alone. At American Surrogacy, we ensure every contract is fair, enforceable, and clear, so you can focus on what matters: the incredible gift you are giving.
Ready to start a protected, supported surrogacy journey in your home state? Apply here today.