New Mexico’s Confirmatory Adoption bill ensures clear legal recognition of parent-child relationships formed through assisted reproduction, regardless of marital status, and provides greater security for families.

Santa Fe, NM — On March 21, 2025 New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed SB 417 into law, amending New Mexico’s Adoption Act and the New Mexico Uniform Parentage Act to establish provisions for confirmatory adoptions, streamlining and clarifying the legal framework surrounding adoption in the state.

Confirmatory adoptions are designed to affirm legal parent-child relationships for families that are formed through assisted reproduction. The new law addresses the growing need for clear legal recognition of such relationships, ensuring that children benefit from the stability and security that formal adoption provides. It provides a streamlined adoption path regardless of marital status and does not limit recognition to two parents. Finally, the law updates existing law to clarify that consent to assisted reproduction, required for legal parental recognition, can occur before, on, or after a child’s birth date in written or oral form.

“This legislation demonstrates what we can achieve when we come together, like families do,” said Meg York, Director of LGBTQ+ Family Law and Policy at Family Equality. “By signing the Confirmatory Adoption bill into law, New Mexico sends a clear message of support to families created through assisted reproduction, allowing parents to confirm their parent-child relationships with dignity and ease. This is incredibly important for New Mexico families.”

Thank you to sponsors Sen. Stewart, Rep. Anaya, Sen. Jaramillo, Sen. Hamblen, and Rep. Szczepanski. Thank you to Governor Grisham and the New Mexico legislature. Thank you to Equality New Mexico, Marshall Martinez, and Attorney N. Lynn Perls for championing this important bill.  

Family Equality is creating a world where everyone can experience the love, safety, and belonging of family. As the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families, we work to ensure that everyone has the freedom to find, form, and sustain their families by advancing LGBTQ+ equality through advocacy, support, storytelling, and education.

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