A Flat Prohibition on Surrogacy Contracts
Arizona takes one of the strictest positions in the country on traditional surrogacy. Arizona Revised Statute 25-218 does not regulate surrogacy agreements. It prohibits them outright. This applies whether the intended parents are a married couple, a same-sex couple, or a single individual.
No person may enter into, induce, arrange, procure or otherwise assist in the formation of a surrogate parentage contract.
A.R.S. § 25-218(A)The ban is broad. It covers the parties and anyone who helps set up the deal.
The law defines these contracts broadly. It includes any deal where a woman agrees to carry an embryo not related to her. It also covers agreements to conceive and then give up parental rights.
This law does not cover gestational carrier setups. In those cases, the surrogate has no genetic link to the child. Many families use separate legal paths for gestational surrogacy.
Who the Law Recognizes as the Parent
If a child is born through a surrogate arrangement despite this prohibition, the statute assigns legal parentage clearly. The surrogate is the legal mother. If the surrogate is married, her husband is presumed to be the legal father. That presumption can be rebutted with evidence.
A surrogate is the legal mother of a child born as a result of a surrogate parentage contract and is entitled to custody of that child.
A.R.S. § 25-218(B)The intended parents do not become legal parents on their own. They may need to go through adoption or a parentage action in court.
This statute affects estate planning directly. Families formed through surrogacy in other states should confirm legal parentage before moving to Arizona.
Inheritance rights and beneficiary choices depend on a legal parent-child bond. If parentage is unclear, problems can arise in trust payouts, insurance claims, and probate. As a result, families should make sure all parent-child bonds are properly recorded.