By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
248-627-4332
ssoldan@mihomepaper.com
Lansing— On April 1, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the Michigan Family Protection act into law. The law abolishes the ban on surrogacy contracts in Michigan and protects surrogates, parents and children.
“Decisions about if, when, and how to have a child should be left to a family, their doctor, and those they love and trust, not politicians,” said Whitmer. “If we want more people and families to ‘make it’ in Michigan, we need to support them with the resources they need to make these deeply personal, life-changing choices. The Michigan Family Protection Act takes commonsense, long-overdue action to repeal Michigan’s ban on surrogacy, protect families formed by IVF, and ensure LGBTQ+ parents are treated equally. Your family’s decisions should be up to you, and my legislative partners and I will keep fighting like hell to protect reproductive freedom in Michigan and make our state the best place to start, raise, and grow your family.”
The legislation, which was sponsored by Rep. Samantha Steckloff, 19th house district, was in partnership with the Michigan Fertility Alliance, founded by Goodrich graduate Stephanie Jones.
“This is an incredible victory for all Michigan families formed through assisted reproduction, including IVF and surrogacy, and for LGBTQ+ families,” said Jones. “With this law, all Michigan families will now have equitable access to safe and secure parent-child relationships, and our state will have legal safeguards for family building through surrogacy, protecting all involved – parents, children, and surrogates.”