The critical legislation has been updated with necessary corrections and clarifications that will enhance its efficacy for children, surrogates, and intended parents
Albany, NY — On Saturday, December 21, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law new updates to the Child-Parent Security Act (CPSA).
These updates include:
- Clarifying residency requirements to provide heightened protections for surrogates and intended parents,
- Strengthening donor agreements and parentage judgments for children born through assisted reproduction, and
- Requiring hospital birth registrars to report a child’s parents on the record of live birth in conformity with any pre-birth judgment of parentage.
Initially signed into law by Governor Cuomo in April 2020, the CPSA legalized gestational surrogacy in New York state and provided a simple path to establishing legal parentage for New Yorker families that used assisted reproduction. In the years since New York enacted the CPSA, it became increasingly apparent that the law needed to be amended so the protections provided were clearer and more comprehensive. The new updates do just that.
“This is an essential step in ensuring that families in New York are protected and supported — and it’s only the beginning,” said Luce Remy, Vice President of Public Policy at Family Equality. “With clearer, more practical protections in place, we can use this momentum to turn toward more comprehensive protections for all families formed through assisted reproduction so that New York can serve as a model for states across the country endeavoring to evolve, progress, and inch towards a future where all families are protected no matter what.”
“At Family Equality, we’ve seen time and time again the amazing progress that can be made when we all work together, like families do. Our efforts to protect New York families are no exception,” said Meg York, Director of LGBTQ+ Family Law and Policy, Senior Policy Council. “Thank you to Governor Hochul and the New York legislature, including the bill’s sponsors Senator Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblywoman Paulin, as well as all the invaluable advocates in our coalition such as impactful attorney Denise Seidelman and the New York Attorneys for Adoption & Family Formation (NYAAFF), for their work to protect surrogates, LGBTQ+ families, and all New Yorkers who will benefit from the new and improved CPSA.”
“My family is a prime example of just how many unique and beautiful paths to parenthood there are,” said Andy Cohen, talk show host, producer, and writer. “To me, true family equality means ensuring that local, state, and federal laws evolve to keep up with these paths to parenthood so that all families are protected and supported — no matter who you are, where you live, or how you grew your family. These necessary updates to the CPSA help us inch closer to that ideal, providing clearer and better protections for families like mine — children, surrogates, and intended parents alike. The Cohen family thanks you!”
About Family Equality
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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(765) 490-4709 / tagnew@familyequality.org