HB1857

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1857
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to gestational surrogacy.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that many people have strong desire to be a parent despite being unable to bear a child. Gestational surrogacy arrangements, in which a woman agrees to become pregnant, carry, and give birth to a child for another intended parent are made in the State, but the frequency and means are unknown.

The legislature further finds that there are neither prohibitions nor protections in the State for surrogate parents and intended parents with regard to surrogacy or gestational carrier agreements. The lack of regulation regarding surrogacy may create inconsistent legal results and inadequate protections among surrogates and intended parents in the State.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to regulate surrogacy to establish consistent prohibitions and protections for surrogate parents and intended parents.

SECTION 2. Chapter 584, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§584- Gestational surrogacy; contracts. (a) Prior to engaging in gestational surrogacy, the commissioning couple and the gestational surrogate shall enter into a binding and enforceable gestational surrogacy contract. A contract for gestational surrogacy shall not be binding and enforceable unless the gestational surrogate is eighteen years of age or older and the commissioning couple are legally married and are both eighteen years of age or older.

(b) The commissioning couple shall enter into a contract with a gestational surrogate only when, within reasonable medical certainty as determined by a physician licensed under part I of chapter 453:

(1) The commissioning mother cannot physically gestate a pregnancy to term;

(2) Gestation would cause a risk to the physical health of the commissioning mother; or

(3) Gestation would cause a risk to the health of the fetus.

(1) The commissioning couple agrees that the gestational surrogate shall be the sole source of consent with respect to clinical intervention and management of the pregnancy;

(2) The gestational surrogate agrees to submit to reasonable medical evaluation and treatment and to adhere to reasonable medical instructions about the gestational surrogate's prenatal health;

(3) Except as provided in paragraph (5), the gestational surrogate agrees to relinquish any parental rights upon the child’s birth;

(4) Except as provided in paragraph (5), the commissioning couple agrees to accept custody of and to assume full parental rights and responsibilities for the child immediately upon the child’s birth, regardless of any impairment of the child; and

(5) The gestational surrogate agrees to assume parental rights and responsibilities for the child born to the surrogate if it is determined that neither member of the commissioning couple is the genetic parent of the child.

(d) As part of the contract, the commissioning couple may agree to pay only reasonable living, legal, medical, psychological, and psychiatric expenses of the gestational surrogate that are directly related to prenatal, intrapartal, and postpartal periods.

(e) As used in this section:

"Commissioning couple" means two persons who are legally married, are both eighteen years of age or older, and commission a surrogate to carry a pregnancy created via in vitro fertilization and deliver a child that is not biologically related to the surrogate.

"Gestational surrogacy" means a process in which a surrogate carries a pregnancy created via in vitro fertilization and delivers a child that is not biologically related to the surrogate.

"Gestational surrogacy contract" means a written agreement between the gestational surrogate and the commissioning couple.

"Gestational surrogate" means a person who contracts with a commissioning couple to carry a pregnancy created via in vitro fertilization and deliver a child that is not biologically related to the surrogate."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________