ASRM Center for Policy and Leadership Releases Policy Report on Gestational Carrier Pregnancies

January 27, 2026
For Immediate Release

Washington, DC — The ASRM Center for Policy and Leadership (CPL) released a new report examining gestational carrier policy in the United States, offering an evidence-based framework and key policy considerations for lawmakers. Gestational carrier (GC) arrangements provide a family-building option for patients with documented medical indications using embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) transferred to the uterus of a GC who is not the genetic parent of the child. 
 
The report, Gestational Carrier Policy in the United States: Regulatory Overview and Key Considerations for Policy Development, outlines key policy considerations for lawmakers evaluating gestational carrier legislation, informed by clinical guidance from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, including: 

• Weighing the real-world consequences of new laws, including how they impact patients, healthcare providers, and taxpayers, to ensure that any resulting costs are clearly justified by a demonstrable public benefit. 
• Ensuring transparency, informed consent, and access to independent legal counsel so gestational carriers and intended parents clearly understand their rights and responsibilities. 
• Aligning laws with established medical standards, including evidence-based screening, testing, and psychological evaluation, to protect the health of gestational carriers and support safe, healthy family building. 

The report also urges lawmakers to consider whether proposed policies ask the right threshold questions, including whether legislation is narrowly tailored, grounded in data rather than anecdote, consistent with clinical best practices, and protective of access to medically indicated care without creating unnecessary barriers. 
 
“As policymakers and courts grapple with questions surrounding gestational carriers and assisted reproduction, it is critical that they ground policy decisions in clinical data and established medical standards,” said Rebecca O’Connor, JD, Director of the ASRM CPL. “This report is intended to help decision-makers separate anecdotes from evidence, protect patients and gestational carriers, and avoid unintended consequences that could undermine access to medically indicated care.” 
 
Gestational carrier pregnancies remain rare in the United States, occurring at a rate of approximately 13.7 per 100,000 deliveries nationwide. While use has increased gradually over time, gestational carriers account for just 1.5 percent of assisted reproductive technology cycles, underscoring that these arrangements represent a highly specialized form of medically indicated care rather than a widespread practice. For some hopeful parents, including many same-sex couples and patients who cannot carry a pregnancy, gestational carriers are the only pathway to having a biologically related child. 
 
The full report is available here.