Is surrogacy really illegal in DC? I'd like to become a surrogate.

[Anonymous]

I have considered becoming a surrogate. I'm 29 and healthy, a DC resident, highly educated, D&D-free, gainfully employed, and while I don't believe I'll ever have my own children, I'd like to experience pregnancy and give someone an amazing and transformative gift. I feel like I have tools in my garage that are going unused, and I'd really like to explore this option. It's not about money at all. While I'd ask for things like medical expense reimbursement or missed work time, I would never want to profit off such a thing.

Lest it goes unsaid, I'm not really particular about the couple for whom I carry. Straight, gay, single, marred, I don't really care, so long as they are secure people who can love a baby and provide for a baby, that's good enough for me. I just don't see a lot of agencies who are willing to work in DC.

Recently I overheard a man talking to a salesperson in a store on U St about how he was buying a gift for "their surrogate" and I wondered how this was possible in DC. It was evident to me that he was a gay man, which leads me to believe that he somehow managed to hire a surrogate to carry his and his partner's baby. Based on what I've read, surrogacy is illegal in DC. So how are people doing it? Even in VA/MD the laws are "iffy" about surrogacy. So am confused about how this happens.

Can anyone help explain how I go about doing this so it's on the "up and up"? I don't want to break any laws, but I'd really love the opportunity to experience this and help out a person/couple who wants to bring a child into this world.

Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Contact Shady Grove Fertility - I'm pretty sure they have a surrogacy program. Google them.

[Anonymous]

We are using a surrogate and she is currently pregnant with our twins. I know that it is definitely legal in MD. In that respect you can work around the system and have the contracts drawn up in MD. What may be a problem is the fact that they tend NOT to use women who have not had children of their own for a variety of reasons but mainly because they are not "proven" child bearers and also in the unlikely event that something goes wrong during the surrogacy which leads to a hysterectomy they prefer women who have already had their own children. In the former case they want to avoid being sued by the intended parents for not using a carrier that is known to be able to carry children to term and in the latter they want to avoid being sued by the carrier who would have lost her chances of ever bearing her own children. They hold the view that even if you say you don't want kids now every one has a right to and indeed might change their mind.
Sorry for lack of punctuation but too tired.