Nevada Surrogacy Law
Summary: Nevada law explicitly permits married people to enter into a surrogacy agreement, but the enactment of the Nevada Domestic Partnership Act raises questions about the possibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals who are in domestic partnerships entering enforceable surrogacy agreements.
Explanation: A Nevada statute restricts the adopting parties in a surrogacy agreement to people “whose marriage is valid” under Nevada law. The statute defines “intended parents” as “a man and a woman, married to each other.” This specific language indicates that it is unlikely an LGBT individual or couple would be permitted to enter into an enforceable surrogacy agreement.
However, the Nevada Domestic Partnership Act states that “[d]omestic partners have the same rights, protections and benefits, and are subject to the same responsibilities, obligations and duties under law, whether derived from statutes, administrative regulations, court rules, government policies, common law or any other provisions or sources of law, as are granted to and imposed upon spouses.” The Act also establishes that “[t]he rights and obligations of domestic partners with respect to a child of either of them are the same as those of spouses.” It remains to be seen how this apparent conflict in the law will be resolved.
There is no explicit prohibition in Nevada on LGBT couples jointly adopting a child, nor is there an explicit prohibition on LGBT individuals from adopting the child of their same-sex partner.
Citations: NEV. REV. STAT. § 126.045 (2009);
2009 Nev. ALS 393 (2009).
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Last Updated: 9/9/2009