Surrogacy Laws in Arkansas
Fast Facts
- Is Arkansas a surrogate friendly state: Yes.
- Can Parent(s) obtain a birth order without an adoption: Yes, if they are married.
- Can birth order be obtained without a genetic connection to Child: Yes, with an affidavit from the physician who conducted the assisted reproduction procedure.
Summary of Arkansas Surrogacy Law:
Ark. Code Ann. Section 9-10-201 et seq., refers to artificial insemination and how parentage is determined in a surrogate arrangement. By practice, a pre-birth petition for declaration of parentage with an Affidavit by the physician handling the assisted reproduction is filed, and an agreed order of parentage signed by the intended parents and the surrogate is presented to the court for the court’s entry.
Typically, there is no hearing on the agreed order, which designates the intended parents as the child’s legal parents upon birth, and directs the Division of Vital Records to enter and immediately seal the original birth certificate reflecting the name of the woman who delivered the baby as “mother”, and substituting the birth certificate with one reflecting the intended parents as the child’s parents. If the intended parents are not married, only one parent is reflected as the legal parent on the birth certificate until a second parent adoption takes place. At that point, the birth certificate will be amended to add the second parent (through adoption) to the child’s birth certificate.
– Summary provided by Kaye H. McLeod, Esq.
Attorneys specializing in surrogacy law in Arkansas:
Chelsea E. Caldwell, Esq.
Phone: (314) 325-7157
Email: Chelsea@mwflg.com
Heather M. May, Esq.
Phone: (501) 296-9999
Email: hmay@tripconylawfirm.com
Kaye H. McLeod, Esq.
Phone: (501) 663-6224
Email: kaye@kmcleodlaw.com
Tim Schlesinger, Esq.
Phone: (314) 325-7157
Email: tim@mwflg.com
Joanna Beck Wilkinson, Esq.
Phone: (415) 505-7191
Email: joanna@marybecklaw.com