Surrogate Mom Is Listed as Mother on TN Birth Certificate

Tennessee law case summary on name of surrogate parent on birth certificate in family law from the Court of Appeals.

In re Adoption of Male Child A.F.C. – Tennessee divorce name of surrogate parent on birth certificate

This case involves who should be listed as the mother of a child born under a surrogacy agreement.  A married couple entered into a surrogacy agreement with a surrogate mother and her husband.  The surrogate mother agreed to carry the child to term on behalf of the intended mother and father, who obtained an egg from an anonymous donor, which was fertilized in vitro by the intended father’s sperm.  The process was successful, and the child was born.

The day before the child was born, the intended parents filed a petition in Rutherford County, Tennessee, Chancery Court.  In particular, they wanted to identify the intended parents as the mother and father and have them listed as such on the birth certificate.

The State of Tennessee intervened, and took the position that the surrogate mother and her husband should be listed on the birth certificate, and that after a decree of adoption, a new birth certificate could be issued.

The trial court issued an order specifying that the birth certificate should list the mother as “unknown” pending adoption.  Both the intended parents and the state then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  The court noted that there were three possible “mothers” in this case, the surrogate mother who carried the baby to term, the intended mother, or the anonymous donor.  It noted that since this case involved construction of a statute, the issue boiled down to the legislature’s intent.

In this case, the Tennessee Vital Records Act did not define the word “mother.”  However, the court did note that Tennessee had adopted the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth, and looked at federal law regarding the use of that form.  In particular, the court noted that the form contained numerous questions regarding the mother during pregnancy, such as the dates of her prenatal visits, food assistance, cigarettes smoked during pregnancy, and number of previous births.

Based upon this construction of the federal form, the court concluded that the “mother” being referred to was the woman who had carried the baby to term and delivers birth.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals reversed the lower court and ordered that the original birth certificate should list the name of the surrogate mother.

No. M2013-00583-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 16, 2014).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.