§ 25-21,200.Contract; void and unenforceable; definition.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 1988 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section voids and refuses to enforce a surrogate parenthood contract as defined here — one paying a woman to bear a child for a man who is not her husband — and gives the biological father the same rights and duties the law would impose without any contract.
Full Text of § 25-21,200
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(1) A surrogate parenthood contract entered into shall be void and unenforceable. The biological father of a child born pursuant to such a contract shall have all the rights and obligations imposed by law with respect to such child.
(2) For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires, a surrogate parenthood contract shall mean a contract by which a woman is to be compensated for bearing a child of a man who is not her husband.
Source
Laws 1988, LB 674, § 1.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-21,200 takes direct aim at one type of arrangement: a contract paying a woman to bear a child for a man who is not her husband. The statute calls that a surrogate parenthood contract, and it declares any such contract void and unenforceable. A court asked to enforce its terms — payment, custody, anything else the parties wrote into it — will not honor it, because the statute strips the contract of legal effect from the outset.
Voiding the contract does not leave the child’s parentage unresolved. The biological father keeps all the rights and obligations the law would assign him regardless of any agreement, so custody, support, and related questions fall back on the ordinary rules that apply outside a surrogacy contract. The definition in subsection (2) is narrow by its own terms: it covers a contract compensating a woman to bear a child of a man who is not her husband, and the statute’s reach runs no further than that description.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a surrogate parenthood contract enforceable in Nebraska?
No. Section 25-21,200 declares such a contract void and unenforceable, so a court will not enforce its payment, custody, or other terms.
What happens to the biological father’s rights if the contract is void?
He keeps all the rights and obligations the law imposes on a biological father, the same as if no contract had ever been signed.
How does this section define a surrogate parenthood contract?
As a contract compensating a woman to bear a child of a man who is not her husband.
Does this section address arrangements where the woman receives no payment?
The definition in subsection (2) turns on the woman being compensated for bearing the child; an arrangement outside that description falls outside this specific definition.
Can a party sue to enforce payment terms in a surrogacy agreement covered by this section?
No. Because the statute makes the contract void and unenforceable, a court will not order payment or any other term carried out under it.
When did this section take effect?
It comes from Laws 1988, LB 674, section 1.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
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