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Assembly approves chapter amendment clarifying surrogacy rules, including retroactivity fix
Summary
The Assembly passed a chapter amendment to technical changes affecting the Child Parents Security Act, restoring some insurance provisions, clarifying parental-judgment procedures, and correcting a retroactivity date so provisions apply from 2021; vote was 128–13.
The New York State Assembly on the floor adopted a chapter amendment to technical changes to the Child Parents Security Act that sponsors said restores certain insurance provisions and clarifies procedures for establishing parentage. "We received the proposed amendments on December 17," the sponsor, Miss Pollan, told colleagues, calling the changes "technical" and aimed at fixing implementation issues after the Act's enactment.
Pollan said the measure requires courts to issue amended judgments that include a child's name and birth date after notification of birth, to ensure hospitals and other officials know the child's legal parentage. She also said the chapter amendment corrects a drafting error by changing the retroactivity date from 2022 to 2021, aligning the provision with when the Child Parents Security Act originally went into effect so that surrogates or intended parents can seek compensation or claims arising during that period.
Questioners pressed the sponsor on the scope of intended-parent responsibilities. Miss Walsh asked whether "intended parents shall be responsible for preconception care, prenatal care, major medical treatments, hospitalization, and behavioral health care throughout the surrogate's pregnancy term and then for 12 months after birth of the child." Pollan replied that the chapter returns those provisions to the original law and that additional insurance-related changes remain under consideration and may appear in a later technical package.
Pollan also described a carve-out requested by the administration that delays for three years provisions requiring certain information go to hospital registrars or the State Department of Health, saying DOH "didn't feel that they were ready yet" and asked for the phased timing.
Supporters said the amendment clarifies implementation and preserves family-building protections; opponents reiterated broader objections to surrogacy as public policy. After debate, the clerk recorded the final vote: Ayes 128, Noes 13. The amendment was recorded as passed and will take effect immediately for the provisions specified; the registrar/DOH provision is delayed as described by the sponsor.
