Is Surrogacy Legal in Illinois?

Beginning Your Surrogacy Journey in Illinois

Finding a surrogate is easy with Eggceptional Fertility. We understand your hopes and dreams for your family, and we are honored to assist you on this journey. Choosing your surrogate is an incredibly important decision, and we are here to ensure that choice is as easy and comfortable as possible. We use a rigorous screening process that is unmatched in the industry to find exceptional, dedicated surrogates. Our staff is composed of experienced and compassionate professionals who will guide you through your surrogacy journey with care.

We provide in person, phone, video conference, and email communication options to make our services more accessible. There is never a charge for a consultation with Eggceptional Fertility. We are excited to get to know you and help you on your journey!

What Is Surrogacy and Who Uses It?

Surrogacy allows people who cannot become pregnant or deliver a baby by themselves to become parents. Often, it also allows them to still share a biological connection with their child. Intended parents may pursue surrogacy because of biological or medical needs, such as the inability to safely carry a pregnancy or the lack of all the reproductive systems necessary to conceive.

During the surrogacy process, a fertility clinic develops an embryo from an egg and sperm from the intended parents and/or donors. The embryo is then transferred into the uterus of a gestational carrier/surrogate. The surrogate carries the pregnancy to term and delivers a baby. Surrogates provide this generous service because they feel moved to help others become pregnant. In return for this significant commitment of time and energy, the surrogate receives compensation from the intended parent(s).

How Much Does Surrogacy Cost?

Intended parents who pursue surrogacy in Illinois tend to have three large categories of expenses: surrogate compensation, medical costs, and agency fees. These costs can be further broken down as:

• Surrogate Compensation
• Medical & Mental Health Screenings
• IVF & Embryo Transfer
• Travel & Miscellaneous Expenses
• Agency Fees
• Legal Fees
• Surrogate Medical Insurance
• Surrogate Medical Care (including prenatal, delivery, and postpartum)

The exact cost of surrogacy varies based on location, specific needs, surrogate experience, and other details. For instance, surrogates often receive additional compensation if they carry twins or if they need to have a C-section during delivery.

Your surrogacy agency should provide a clear estimate of costs for your specific surrogacy journey. This should include both the agency’s fees and a typical breakdown of overall expenses and costs. Eggceptional Fertility has a mission to provide clear and transparent information on fees and expenses. For a more detailed look at our current surrogacy fees, click here.

How to Find a Surrogacy Agency Near You

Surrogacy is a major emotional, physical, and financial commitment. It’s important to work with an experienced, quality surrogacy agency to save on time, money, energy, and ensure the smoothest possible journey. To find an excellent surrogacy agency, look for one with:

• Experience – the surrogacy journey is long and complex, with thousands of important details to ensure success and safety for everyone involved. While surrogacy experiences can share certain similarities, unexpected situations often arise. A surrogacy agency with years of experience will help you navigate your journey to parenthood with skill and confidence.
• Compassion – Intended parents pursuing surrogacy can feel a wide range of emotions – excitement, anxiety, joy, nervousness, and more. All these feelings are completely valid, and you deserve to work with an agency who will support you emotionally as well as logistically. Listen to your intuition when you meet with potential surrogacy agencies and stay away from anywhere that makes you feel like a number instead of a complete human being.
• Transparency – Surrogacy is complicated, but it shouldn’t be mysterious. As an intended parent, you deserve to be fully informed and aware of every aspect of the process. Of course, you won’t need to manage these details – that’s what your agency is for! Still, a great surrogacy agency will be open and honest about answering your questions, whether it’s about their matching process, the surrogate timeline, or their costs and fees.

Since 2008, Eggceptional Fertility has provided expert surrogacy services to Illinois families, led by our belief that everyone deserves the chance to build a family. Our intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors all make up our extended Eggceptional community, united by our shared dream of helping families.

How to Get Started Finding a Surrogate in Illinois

The surrogacy process begins with finding an experienced surrogate agency and discussing your family-building goals with them. From there, your agency will guide you through the matching process of selecting a surrogate and creating a surrogacy agreement. Once the legal and financial arrangements are complete, your fertility clinic will start the IVF and embryo transfer process. Next comes pregnancy, delivery, and bringing home your new baby!

Of course, there are many more steps and details throughout the surrogacy process. We will help you navigate the entire process with confidence and care. To start your surrogacy journey, schedule an initial consultation. At this appointment, we’ll get to know you and your family goals, and you’ll get to know us and ask any and all questions you have. The path to parenthood is only a click away – schedule your initial consultation today.