- At least one of the intended parents must be the biological parent (egg or sperm donor) of the child being carried by the gestational surrogate.
- All parties and spouses involved in the surrogate arrangement must sign certified statements consenting to the establishment of the child's parentage.
- A physician licensed to practice medicine in the state of Illinois must sign a certified statement that the child being carried by the gestational surrogate is the child of the intended parent or parents and that neither the gestational surrogate nor the gestational surrogate’s husband, if any, is a biological parent of the child being carried by the gestational surrogate.
- The attorneys representing the intended parent(s) and the gestational surrogate and her husband (if any), must each sign a separate certified statement that the parties have signed a gestational surrogacy contract and that this contract satisfies the requirements of Section 25 of the Gestational Surrogacy Act.
- The certified statements must be executed prior to the birth of the child.
- The certified statements must be on forms prescribed by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
- The certified statements must be witnessed by two competent adults (age 18 or older) who are not the parties and spouses involved in the surrogate arrangement.
- The original copies of all the certified statements (not photocopies) must be delivered to the director of medical records in the hospital of planned delivery prior to the birth of the child. These statements are to be placed in the medical record of the gestational surrogate.
- Should a surrogate birth occur in an Illinois hospital other than the hospital planned for the delivery, the person preparing the birth certificate must be advised of the existence of the surrogate parentage statements. The birth record preparer should immediately contact IDPH, Division of Vital Records or the hospital where the birth was planned for a copy of these forms and also request that the original be forwarded to the delivering hospital for inclusion in its medical records files.
- A photocopy of all the certified statements must be filed, at no charge, with IDPH, Division of Vital Records, prior to the birth of the child. These forms are to be sent to:
Illinois Department of Public Health
Division of Vital Records
925 East Ridgely Ave.
Springfield, IL 62702-2737
Failure to meet these requirements will result in the birth certificate being prepared with the gestational surrogate (the woman delivering the child) named as the mother and her husband, if any, named as the father. To correct the record to reflect the names of the intended parents, court action at the expense of the intended parents will be required.
The law doesn't apply if the gestational surrogate delivers the baby outside of Illinois or if the gestational surrogate is the biological mother, also.
Birth records can be obtained from IDPH, Division of Vital Records or from the county clerk's office in the county where the birth occurred. (List of county vital records Web sites or county clerk addresses) |
