Utah Supreme Court will now allow surrogacy for same-sex couples

The Utah Supreme Court struck down a law stopping same-sex couples from having children through surrogacy. The law was challenged by a gay couple who ran into legal issues due to strict language in Utah’s laws governing surrogacy.

In the victorious ruling, Chief Justice Matthew Durrant said “same-sex couples must be afforded all of the benefits the State has linked to marriage and freely grants to opposite sex-couples.”

“A valid gestational agreement is undoubtedly a benefit linked to marriage,” Chief Justice Durrant wrote. “Obtaining a valid gestational agreement is, in many cases, one of the most important benefits afforded to couples who may not be medically capable of having a biological child. Such an agreement works to secure parental rights to an unborn child and bestows rights and benefits on the intended parents. The State has explicitly conditioned this benefit on a petitioner’s marital status; no unmarried couple may obtain one. It is therefore unquestionably linked to marriage.”