Hope. Activism. Action.

Grassroots activism helping families grow

Michigan Fertility Alliance (MFA) is a grassroots citizens-led organization advocating for families who need assisted reproduction and surrogacy to start or grow. MFA advocates for issues relating to infertility, surrogacy, and the protection of parentage rights for children born via assisted reproduction. The Michigan Family Protection Act is a result of MFA's policy and advocacy work.

MFA and a coalition of national experts and stakeholders helped craft and introduce the Michigan Family Protection Act (HB 5207-5215), which was signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on April 1, 2024. The MFPA legalizes surrogacy in Michigan, among other important advances for families that start or grow through assisted reproduction.

The Michigan Family Protection Act will take effect 90 days after the end of the 2024 legislative session. The approximate effective date is March 2025.

The Purpose of the Michigan Family Protection Act: 

Over 300,000 Michiganders who want to have children can’t. The inability to conceive a child naturally affects citizens physically, emotionally and financially. It is crippling for individuals and families whose only option is seeking fertility treatment to grow a family.

Michigan’s parentage laws have been in the dark ages, and that’s why the legislature is passing new legislation to protect children and families. 

The Michigan Fertility Alliance’s legislation, the Michigan Family Protection Act (MFPA), will provide legal clarity and protections for children, parents, and those acting as surrogates. A secure parent-child legal relationship is core to a child’s well-being because many rights, such as medical care, education, social security and others, flow from this legal status. Michigan parents and families of all kinds should not have to adopt their own children, and children should not be in legal jeopardy while their parents fight for their legal custody. This legislation changes that.

The new law creates the foundation for parentage by securing a legal tie between all Michigan children and parents:

• For Children: A clear path will be charted for securing the legal rights of children conceived through fertility treatment. 

• For Parents: Parents, including both married and unmarried couples, LGBTQ+ individuals, and single parents who rely on fertility treatments to build their families, will be able to do so with a clear legal pathway.

• For Surrogates: The bill establishes a process for contracts that secure and protect everyone, including the child, carrier, and parents.

The Michigan Fertility Alliance and its members have now overhauled the outdated 1988 Law that denied fundamental parentage rights for families created through fertility treatment. For more information on surrogacy in Michigan—past, present, future—please head to our FAQ page.

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