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In Missouri, gestational surrogacy is permitted, because there is no statute or case law that prohibits it.
Traditional (genetic) surrogacy is permitted, but the non-biological parent should expect the legal requirements that often come with adoption, such as a six-month waiting period and criminal background checks.
No specific legal requirements exist to serve as a gestational surrogate in the state of Missouri.
Parentage Orders: Courts in Missouri do not typically grant pre-birth orders. Missouri abides by the 1972 version of the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) on artificial insemination, which allows a petition to be filed before the birth, but requires a final court order determining parentage to be signed by the court after the birth of the child to comply with vital records requirements to issue the birth certificate.
The conditions under which intended parents may be declared legal parents with a post-birth order if at least one parent is genetically related to the child are listed below:
In many cases, these laws have not been tested; the likelihood of being able to obtain a post-birth order varies.
For intended parents who are in no way related to the resulting child, the conditions under which intended parents could be declared legal parents with a post-birth order are listed below:
Yes
Married Couples
In many cases, these laws have not been tested; the likelihood of being able to obtain a post-birth order varies.
Same-sex parents are listed on a birth certificate as “parent and parent.”
International same-sex male couples can receive an initial birth certificate naming the biological father and the gestational surrogate, so long as a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is signed. Amendments can likely be made to the birth certificate that name both fathers without the gestational surrogate, though a second-parent adoption may strengthen the case for this. This process, at present, may be able to be expedited solely by the child being born in Missouri (but again, this is largely untested).
Missouri’s version of the 1972 UPA, Mo. Ann. Stat. § 210.824, the donor of sperm provided to a physician is treated as if he were not the natural father of the child. A 2009 case ruled that this law applies equally to egg donors.
Christina Miller
Reproductive Family Law Center
1222 West 70th Street
Kansas City, MO 64113
Phone: 816-205-7020
Fax: 816-205-7030
https://www.kcbabylaw.com
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