Is Surrogacy Legal in Washington?

Beginning Your Surrogacy Journey in Washington

Finding a surrogate is easy with Eggceptional Fertility. Continue reading to learn how surrogacy works, how to find an expert surrogacy agency, and then schedule your initial consultation today!

Surrogacy and Why People Use Surrogates in Washington

Surrogacy allows people who cannot carry or deliver a baby on their own to become parents, often while still sharing a biological connection with their child. In surrogacy, a gestational carrier (or “surrogate”) receives an embryo developed from the intended parents and/or an egg or sperm donor. The surrogate then carries the pregnancy and delivers the baby, but the surrogate doesn’t have any parental rights. In fact, surrogates generously offer to bring someone else’s baby into the world simply because they want to help people become parents. In return for the surrogate’s time and effort, she receives compensation from the intended parent(s).

A couple or individual might choose to find a surrogate for any of several reasons, including:

• They have healthy eggs but can’t safely become pregnant.
• They had a prior hysterectomy.
• Neither parent can carry a pregnancy (for instance, gay male couples).

Some intended parents may also need to use donor eggs or sperm on their path to parenthood.

How Much Does Surrogacy Cost?

Surrogacy requires a substantial financial investment. The exact amount depends on several factors, including surrogate experience, location, health insurance, and more. In broad terms, surrogacy costs can include:

• Surrogate-related expenses
  • Surrogate compensation
  • Screenings
  • Health Insurance
  • Travel Expenses
  • Additional benefits
• Medical Fees
  • Egg retrieval or donor egg/donor sperm (if applicable)
  • In vitro fertilization (IVF)
  • Embryo transfer
  • Prenatal appointments
  • Labor & delivery
  • Postpartum recovery
• Agency Fees
• Legal Fees

Typically, the intended parents pay for all related surrogacy expenses. Some surrogates have their own medical insurance that covers surrogate pregnancies. In these cases, intended parents often give their surrogate slightly higher compensation because they don’t have to purchase a separate health insurance plan.

Intended parents often provide additional benefits as laid out in their surrogacy agreement, like house-cleaning services, a maternity clothes stipend, or childcare if needed for the surrogate’s own children. Once you find your surrogate, you will meet with attorneys to create a legal agreement that lays out the exact compensation and benefits.

What to Look for in a Surrogacy Agency

Surrogacy is a major emotional, physical, and financial commitment. It’s important to work with a 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 (often over a year) and complex, with thousands of important details to ensure success and safety for everyone involved. While surrogacy experiences can share certain similarities, often unexpected situations 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 logistically and emotionally. 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 should feel 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 Washington 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 Find a Surrogate in Washington

In the surrogacy process, intended parents first schedule an initial consultation with a surrogacy agency. This first appointment allows the intended parents to get to know their agency and vice versa. At Eggceptional Fertility, we offer a free consultation to all intended parents. During this initial consultation, we ask you about your hopes, goals, and questions about the process. We will also go through the entire experience in more detail, including how we help you find a surrogate through our expert matching process. From there, we’ll start scheduling meetings with potential surrogates until you find the right fit for your family-building goals. You can read more about the surrogacy process here. While the process is complex, it all starts with a single step: schedule your initial consultation today.