Mexico bans international surrogacy programs

Tabasco, currently the only state in Mexico allowing surrogacy, has drawn many foreign and gay couples seeking to become parents.

A Mexican state legislature has voted to close the door to foreign couples and gay men looking to have a child by surrogacy.

A Mexican state legislature has voted to close the door to foreign couples and gay men looking to have a child by surrogacy.

The Gulf coast state of Tabasco is currently the only Mexican state that allows surrogacy, supposedly on a non-commercial basis. It has attracted many foreign and gay couples looking to have children.But the Tabasco state legislature voted 21-9 on Monday to restrict the option to Mexicans. It also says that couples looking for a child must include a mother aged 25 to 40 who can present proof that she is medically unable to bear a child.

Mexico has become a low-cost alternative to the United States, where surrogacy can cost $150,000 or more while Mexican surrogate international programs were typically only $60,000 to $80,000 for the same process.

Mexico now joins India, Thailand and Nepal as countries which no longer allow international surrogacy programs.