In surrogacy arrangements, which element clarifies legal and medical parentage?

• A. Medical and legal parentage
• B. Financial arrangements
• C. Travel arrangements
• D. Geographical location

Answer: (A)

Clarifying both medical and legal parentage is essential in surrogacy because it covers two distinct, crucial roles. Medical parentage identifies who contributed biologically to the pregnancy and who will have medical responsibility for the child, while legal parentage determines who is recognized by the law as the child’s parent with rights and duties such as custody, decision-making, and support. When an arrangement explicitly establishes these statuses—often reinforced by pre-birth or post-birth legal orders—the intended parents can be legally recognized as the parents and the medical responsibilities and relationships with the child are clear, reducing disputes and confusion later. Financial, travel, or geographic considerations may be part of surrogacy logistics, but they do not establish who is legally or medically responsible for the child.