SALT LAKE CITY — Married couples who want to employ a surrogate in order to have a child would be allowed to enter legal contracts and get Utah birth certificates for their babies under a bill that got tentative approval in the Utah Senate Tuesday.

Surrogacy is currently illegal in the state, so surrogate birth mothers must leave Utah in order to deliver the children and obtain birth certificates that bear the name of the biological parents. The absence of surrogacy law also leaves both parents and surrogate mothers without the protection of legal contracts.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, would do both.

"Through this process of surrogacy, they can take their very own egg and their husband's sperm and create a child that is not only their emotionally, but theirs biologically," Hillyard said.

Putting surrogacy contracts in law, will also protect Utah families from being at the mercy of the courts, which Hillyard noted are already addressing the issue in the absence of state statutes. Should the bill pass, Utah would be one of five states to have a surrogacy law.

The legislation allows for court-approved surrogacy agreements only for married couples where the woman is unable to carry a child because of serious health reasons.

The bill also requires the surrogate to be a woman who has previously delivered a child, so that she understands the impact of her commitment.

The Senate gave tentative approval to the bill Tuesday, passing it on a vote of 24-0, with five senators absent. A final vote is expected Wednesday before it moves to the House of Representatives.

Despite the vote, senators were not without concerns.

Questions were raised about whether or not giving the surrogate mother the right to terminate the pregnancy should it present a serious health risk to the mother or the child was the same thing as legalizing abortion. And some wondered about the need to require surrogates to have emotional counseling.

"I do worry about a mother who thinks she can do this and hasn't fully considered the ramifications," Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Salt Lake City, said. "It would be difficult."

Hillyard said he believed family court judges might order such counseling in approving surrogacy contracts, but also said he planned to monitor the courts to see how they handle such cases.

"I've met some marvelous surrogate mothers," Hillyard said. "They almost take it as a mission."

Hillyard also said that a letter from the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union had raised concerns about the bill, including whether or not surrogate mothers should have the same rights as mothers surrendering their children for adoption.