LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Michigan residents growing their families through surrogacy and other reproductive arrangements will now have legal protection as new parenthood laws take effect across the state.

The law, signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year, took effect on April 1st. It allows individuals to enter paid agreements with surrogates—contracts that had previously been banned in Michigan and could carry fines up to $50,000 and prison time, according to Bridge Michigan. 

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With the change, Michigan joins the rest of the country in allowing paid surrogacy agreements.

The law also outlines new legal standards for such contracts. Surrogates must be at least 21, have previously given birth, undergo medical and psychological screening, and be represented by legal counsel. Intended parents are also required to obtain legal representation.

The legislation includes additional provisions related to assisted reproduction, including in vitro fertilization and donor sperm. It clarifies that sperm donors do not have legal parental status and allows individuals in these situations to establish legal parentage without adoption.

Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D–Farmington Hills), who helped lead the legislative effort, said the goal was to make Michigan’s parentage laws the most comprehensive in the country.

“There was no stone left unturned,” Steckloff said.

Critics, including Right to Life of Michigan, raised concerns that paid surrogacy could lead to exploitation of low-income women and urged caution moving forward.

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“There really isn’t any regulation to prevent that at this point,” Genevieve Marnon, legislative director for Right to Life of Michigan, said. “I think we need to be careful.”