Sponsors
The bill aims to protect children and close interstate surrogacy loopholes by creating federal criminal and civil rules, but in doing so it criminalizes certain intended parents, relies on broad definitions that risk rights violations, and may create federal-state conflicts and legal uncertainty for families and surrogacy participants.
Children: prevents people required to register as sex offenders from becoming legal dependents through surrogacy, reducing certain safety risks to children.
Parents and families: limits covered sex offenders' ability to use interstate surrogacy to evade state restrictions, closing cross-state loopholes.
Federal law enforcement: creates a clear federal criminal statute enabling prosecutors to pursue cases where covered sex offenders arrange surrogacy across state lines.
Intended parents/families: people required to register as sex offenders would be criminalized for entering surrogacy contracts—even absent proven harm to a child—exposing them to up to 10 years in prison.
Surrogates, agencies, and third parties: surrogacy contracts involving covered sex offenders may be unenforceable in federal court, creating legal uncertainty for surrogates, agencies, and third parties across jurisdictions.
People broadly covered by the statute (including people-with-disabilities and parents): broad terms (e.g., 'obtain', expansive interstate nexus) risk capturing unintended conduct and raise due process and equal protection concerns.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal crime and bars federal enforcement of surrogacy contracts when an intended parent is a registered sex offender and there is an interstate or federal jurisdiction link; grants federal civil jurisdiction over such contracts.
Introduced January 30, 2026 by Nancy Mace · Last progress January 30, 2026
Makes it a federal crime for a person who is required to register as a sex offender under the federal Adam Walsh Act to knowingly obtain a child by surrogacy or enter a surrogacy contract as an intended parent when certain interstate or federal jurisdiction links exist; punishable by fines and up to 10 years in prison. Also prevents federal courts from enforcing any surrogacy contract involving such a registered sex offender and gives federal district courts original jurisdiction over civil actions concerning those surrogacy contracts, with statutory definitions for terms like “surrogacy,” “intended parent,” “surrogate mother,” “child,” and “female.” The bill creates both a new criminal prohibition tied to interstate/federal commerce or territorial links and a parallel civil jurisdiction rule so federal courts can hear challenges or disputes about surrogacy contracts that fall under the same jurisdictional triggers. It defines key terms and does not provide new funding or state-level mandates in the text provided.