BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Gov. John Bel Edwards has reversed course from his predecessor and agreed to create regulations governing surrogacy births in Louisiana.
Surrogacy isn’t illegal in Louisiana, but contracts between a couple and its surrogate haven’t been enforceable in court. The woman who gives birth is presumed to be the child’s mother.
The bill by Rep. Stuart Bishop, a Republican from Lafayette, sets out the legal rights of parents, child and surrogate mother when a woman carries and gives birth to a baby for someone else.
The governor’s office announced this week that Edwards signed the bill into law. It takes effect Aug. 1.
Former Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed similar bills in 2013 and 2014, citing moral and ethical objections raised by social conservatives and religious leaders.
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House Bill 1102: www.legis.la.gov
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