Mississippi Surrogacy Laws

by

Mississippi Surrogacy Laws

There is no Mississippi case law or any state statute that prohibits would-be parents from practicing gestational surrogacy or traditional surrogacy in Mississippi. As a result, both types of surrogacy are permitted and are practiced throughout Mississippi cities like Jackson, Gulfport, and Southaven.

Laws Concerning Parentage Orders in Mississippi

There is no case law or any Mississippi statute that prohibits courts from granting a Mississippi pre-birth parentage order. Courts will generally grant pre-birth parentage orders to opposite-sex couples, regardless of their marital status. It is likely that a Mississippi court would grant Mississippi pre-birth orders to same-sex couples, but it is unprecedented.

Egg and Sperm Donor Law in Mississippi

Under case law, a Mississippi sperm donor is not the legal parent of a child conceived through assisted reproduction. In a 2018 Supreme Court of Mississippi decision, the court held that, “…under Mississippi law, an anonymous sperm donor does not possess any parental rights in a child conceived through the use of his sperm,” Strickland v. Day, No. 2016-CA-01504-SCT (Miss. 2018.).

There is no case law or statute governing the rights and obligations of Mississippi egg or embryo donors.

Mississippi Stepparent and Second-Parent Adoption Law

Mississippi statute allows for a Mississippi stepparent to adopt their spouse’s child, provided that certain requirements are met. The intended adoptive parent must have lived in Mississippi in the same residence as the child and the child’s legal parent or guardian (Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-3.).  

This statute also provides that adoptions by couples of the same gender are prohibited; however, the constitutionality of that provision has been questioned in a recent federal district court case Campaign for S. Equal. v. Mississippi Dep’t of Human Servs. (S.D. Miss. 2016).

Fertility Clinics in Mississippi

Meet with Baby Steps Surrogacy Center, Inc.

For help understanding Mississippi surrogacy laws, reach out the Baby Steps Surrogacy Center, Inc. You can reach us by calling us at 412-281-9906 or reach us through the contact buttons at the top of this page.