# Johnson v. Calvert (1993) Johnson v. Calvert was a landmark California Supreme Court case that addressed gestational surrogacy (unlike Baby M, which involved traditional surrogacy). It showed intent is the important factor in who is seen as the mother in a surrogacy case. The intent going into the surrogacy contract was that Crispina Calvert would be the mother. Anna Johnson agreed to be a gestational surrogate for Mark and Crispina Calvert, carrying an embryo created from the Calverts' genetic material. Unlike Baby M, Johnson had no genetic relationship to the child. Johnson was to be paid $10,000 for carrying the pregnancy. During the pregnancy, relationships deteriorated. Johnson threatened to keep the baby unless she received the promised payment immediately. The Calverts sought a declaration that they were the legal parents. The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Calverts, holding that when genetic parentage and gestational parentage do not coincide in one woman, the woman who intended to bring about the birth and raise the child as her own is the natural mother under California law. The court recognized the validity of gestational surrogacy contracts and established the "intent test" for determining parentage in such cases. This case distinguished gestational surrogacy from traditional surrogacy (like Baby M) and established important precedent for surrogacy law, particularly in validating the role of intent in establishing legal parentage.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​