Okla. Stat. tit. 10 § 557.6

Current through Laws 2024, c. 453.

Section 557.6 - Agreement requirements - Validation

A. A gestational agreement must meet the following requirements in order for it to be validated:

1. The gestational agreement must be in writing;

2. The gestational agreement must be acknowledged before a notary public by each of the parties;

3. All parties to the gestational agreement must be represented by legal counsel regarding the gestational agreement, and the parties to the gestational agreement may share legal counsel provided that the gestational carrier and gestational spouse, if applicable, must have legal counsel that is separate and independent from the legal counsel for the intended parents; and

4. The gestational agreement must contain a written statement, signed by each party's legal counsel, identifying which parties to the gestational agreement such counsel represents and stating that such counsel has advised such parties of the potential legal consequences of entering into the gestational agreement.

B. A gestational agreement must contain terms providing each of the following in order for it to be validated:

1. That each party to the gestational agreement consents to personal jurisdiction in the courts of Oklahoma for all matters connected with the gestational agreement and all matters concerning the parentage of any child born as part of the gestational carrier arrangement;

2. That the gestational carrier agrees to pregnancy by means of assisted reproduction;

3. That the gestational carrier and the gestational spouse, if applicable, relinquish all parental rights and obligations with respect to any child contemplated by the gestational agreement that is conceived or implanted through assisted reproduction and shall surrender all legal and physical custody of that child to the intended parents immediately upon birth of that child;

4. That the intended parents shall be the sole parents of any child born pursuant to the gestational carrier arrangement and that such intended parents shall be entitled to and shall accept legal and physical custody of the child and all parental rights and obligations with respect to such child immediately upon the child's birth, regardless of the mental or physical condition of such child or the number of such children; provided, however, that such child is not a genetic child of the gestational carrier or the gestational spouse;

5. That the gestational carrier, the gestational spouse, if applicable, and each intended parent agree to exchange throughout the period covered by the gestational agreement all relevant information regarding their respective health;

6. That any gametes used in the assisted reproduction procedure shall be retrieved from an intended parent or a donor and not the gestational carrier or the gestational spouse;

7. The identity of one or more physicians or one or more medical facilities that will or may perform the assisted reproduction procedure contemplated by the gestational agreement;

8. A statement acknowledging that at least one or more physicians or medical facilities that will or may perform the assisted reproduction procedure as provided by the gestational agreement has informed the necessary parties to the gestational agreement of:

a. the rate of successful conceptions and births attributable to the procedure, including the most recent published outcome statistics of the procedure at the facility at which it will be performed,

b. the potential for and risks associated with the implantation of multiple embryos and consequent multiple births resulting from the procedure,

c. the nature of and expenses related to the procedure,

d. the health risks associated with, as applicable, fertility drugs used in the procedure, egg retrieval procedures and egg or embryo transfer procedures, and

e. reasonably foreseeable psychological effects resulting from the procedure; and

9. The identity of which party or parties are responsible for the reasonable medical, legal and travel expenses associated with the gestational carrier arrangement, including providing for who is responsible for those expenses if the gestational agreement is terminated.

C. The Oklahoma Gestational Agreement Act shall not apply to any child conceived by means of sexual intercourse, and a gestational agreement shall not apply to any child so conceived.

D. The inclusion in a gestational agreement of any one or more of the following provisions shall not constitute cause for a court to deny the validation of the gestational agreement, and such provisions in a validated gestational agreement shall be enforceable:

1. The gestational carrier's agreement to undergo all medical examinations, treatments and fetal monitoring procedures recommended for the success of the pregnancy by the physician providing care to the gestational carrier during the pregnancy;

2. The gestational carrier's agreement to abstain from any activities that the intended parents or the physician providing care to the gestational carrier during the pregnancy reasonably believe to be harmful to the pregnancy or the future health of any resulting child, including, without limitation, smoking, drinking alcohol, using nonprescribed drugs, using prescription drugs not authorized by a physician aware of the pregnancy, exposure to radiation or any other activity proscribed by a health care provider;

3. The agreement of the intended parents to pay the gestational carrier reasonable compensation;

4. The agreement of the intended parents to pay for or reimburse the gestational carrier or any spouse of the gestational carrier for reasonable expenses, including, without limitation, medical, legal or other professional expenses or lost time from work related to the gestational carrier arrangement or the gestational agreement; and

5. Any other agreement of the parties not contrary to this act or any other applicable law.

Okla. Stat. tit. 10, § 557.6

Added by Laws 2019 , c. 433, s. 7, eff. 5/23/2019.