No. Wisconsin Statutes § 891.41 explicitly bans compensated surrogacy agreements, classifying them as illegal contracts. Uncompensated arrangements may proceed without enforcement, but courts refuse to validate pre-birth orders. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) enforces this prohibition, aligning with the state’s historical resistance to reproductive contract enforcement.
Key Regulations for Surrogacy in Wisconsin
- Compensation Ban: § 891.41 criminalizes payments to surrogates, with penalties including fines up to $10,000 and misdemeanor charges for violators.
- No Pre-Birth Orders: Wisconsin courts uniformly reject petitions for pre-birth parentage orders, forcing intended parents to adopt post-birth under § 48.839.
- Birth Certificate Restrictions: DHS issues birth certificates listing the surrogate as the legal mother unless adoption is finalized, complicating intended parent recognition.
Recent 2026 legislative proposals (Assembly Bill 612) aim to decriminalize altruistic surrogacy but retain strict judicial oversight. The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 2023 In re Baby Girl M. ruling reaffirmed the state’s hostility toward contractual surrogacy, leaving only non-compensated models in legal limbo. Intended parents must navigate Wisconsin’s adoption statutes (Ch. 48) or consider interstate surrogacy arrangements to secure parental rights.