Legal note: This page is educational only. Oregon's parentage statutes changed recently and include provisions with later operative dates, so current Oregon reproductive counsel should confirm which provisions apply to your timeline.
Current statutory framework
Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 109 now expressly distinguishes gestational surrogacy from other forms of assisted reproduction. The 2025 legislation added provisions addressing gestational-surrogacy agreements, parentage at birth, termination before transfer and judgments of parentage.
Parentage at birth
Under ORS 109.238, subject to statutory exceptions, each intended parent is a parent by operation of law when a child is born following assisted reproduction under a gestational-surrogacy agreement. The gestational surrogate and the surrogate's spouse or former spouse are generally not parents under that provision.
Judgment of parentage
ORS 109.242 allows a party to a gestational-surrogacy agreement to seek a circuit-court judgment before, on or after birth. The judgment can address intended-parent status, the surrogate's non-parent status and the birth record.
Agreement and termination rules
Oregon law contains specific provisions for gestational-surrogacy agreements and for termination before embryo transfer. Those details should be reviewed directly against the current statute rather than inferred from older court-practice summaries.
Watch the effective dates
Some amendments enacted in 2025 have operative dates later than their enactment date, including provisions scheduled for January 1, 2027. A lawyer should confirm which version applies when an agreement is signed and when treatment occurs.
Why older Oregon guides may be incomplete
Older descriptions that characterize Oregon primarily through court practice do not fully reflect the newer statutory framework. Current planning should use the latest version of ORS chapter 109.
Read the general surrogacy legal-process guide or return to the state index.