for legal purposes, key factors are where the contract is completed, where the gestational carrier resides, and where the birth takes place. therefore, individuals living in a non-friendly state can still benefit from the policies of surrogacy friendly states by working with a surrogate who lives and will give birth in a friendly state. the variations in policy mean that employee surrogacy benefits, which an increasing number of employers offer, can only be enjoyed in certain jurisdictions. arkansas arkansas was one of the first states to enact surrogacy friendly laws. in 1989, under then-governor bill clinton, it passed act 647, which states that in a surrogacy arrangement, the biological father and his wife will be recognized as the child's legal parents from birth, even if his wife is not genetically related to the child (i.e., in a traditional surrogacy arrangement). if he is unmarried, he alone will be recognized as the legal parent. a woman may also be recognized as the legal mother of the surrogate's genetic child as long as that child was conceived with anonymous donor sperm. on the other hand, it is unclear how or whether same-sex couples could benefit these laws, since the 2008 ballot measure that made it illegal for unmarried, cohabiting individuals to adopt or provide foster care to minors. on 26 june 2015, the 2008 ballot issue is moot because of obergefell v. hodges. california california is known to be a surrogacy-friendly state. it permits commercial surrogacy, regularly enforces gestational surrogacy contracts, and makes it possible for all intended parents, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation, to establish their legal parentage prior to the birth and without adoption proceedings (pre-birth orders). louisiana louisiana restricts surrogacy to married, heterosexual couples who are using their own gametes. surrogacy via egg and/or sperm donation is prohibited. no compensation of the surrogate is allowed, prohibiting commercial surrogacy statewide. all parties must have been louisiana residents for at least six months at the time of entering the surrogacy contract. the surrogacy must be considered medically necessary, and court approval prior to embryo transfer is required. michigan michigan forbids absolutely all surrogacy agreements, compensated or not. it is a felony to enter into such an agreement, punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 and up to five years in prison. the law makes surrogacy agreements unenforceable. new hampshire since 2014, new hampshire is recognized as a surrogacy friendly state, with laws in place to protect all parties to a surrogacy arrangement. all intended parents, irrespective of marital status, sexual orientation, or a genetic connection to the child, are able to establish their legal parental rights through pre-birth orders placing their names directly on the child's initial birth certificate. reasonable compensation to the surrogate is permitted by statute. new york as of february 15, 2021, new york law allows for compensated gestational surrogacy agreements and provides a simple path to establish legal parental rights for parents who rely on assisted reproductive technology to have children. the law, the child-parent security act, also created a first-in-the-nation "surrogate's bill of rights" governing all of the surrogacy arrangements under its auspices. oklahoma on 23 may 2019, gov. kevin stitt signed into law hb2468, which legalizes and recognizes the validity of both compensated and uncompensated gestational surrogacy agreements. under the bill, a comprehensive court procedure is created to validate all gestational agreements. the bill also allows a court to enter pre-birth orders establishing parentage prior to the birth of the child. the bill applies to gestational agreements entered into by single individuals, as well as heterosexual and homosexual couples, who wish to become parents. rhode island rhode island permits gestational surrogacy, as cited in the uniform parentage act, which took effect january 1, 2021. this act allows couples, married or unmarried, or individuals, homosexual or heterosexual, to use their own gametes or those of an egg and/or sperm donor to conceive a child via surrogacy. it also allows pre-birth orders, as long as at least one intended parent is a us resident. wisconsin there is no law prohibiting gestational surrogacy in wisconsin. in july 2013 the wisconsin supreme court ruled in the case of rosecky v. schissel that the surrogacy agreement between the parties was legal and enforceable, striking down an earlier circuit court ruling and thus setting a precedent in the state. chief justice shirley abrahamson and justice ann walsh bradley filing a strongly worded concurring opinion, stating thay “a parenting agreement is a valid enforceable contract,” “unless enforcement is contrary to the best interests of the child.” lawsuits baby m: new jersey 1988. the surrogate mother in a traditional surrogacy arrangement decided to keep the resulting child. the intended parents sued to have themselves recognized as the legal parents. the new jersey supreme court found that the surrogacy contract was invalid as a matter of new jersey public policy. however, the intended parents were given custody of the child because the courts thought they would provide a better home for the baby than the surrogate mother, who was instead given visitation rights. vietnam surrogacy for humanitarian purposes has been allowed in vietnam from 2015 after the amended family and marriage law passed with nearly 60% of votes from the national assembly. under the new law, surrogacy will only be allowed among married couples, who do not have any common child, after doctors confirm the wife can not give birth even with technical support. the surrogate must be a relative of either the husband or wife, and have already given birth successfully. a woman is only allowed to be a surrogate once in her life and must produce her husband's approval if she's married. the embryo must be created by the intended parents' sperm and ovum. the process must be voluntary and follow in-vitro fertilization regulations.