A Republican bill with 13 Republican cosponsors · See all 13 cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is known as the Stopping Adversarial Foreign Exploitation of Kids In Domestic Surrogacy Act or the SAFE KIDS Act. It aims to stop citizens of foreign adversarial nations from entering into or enforcing surrogacy contracts in the United States. According to the text, foreign entities are exploiting commercial surrogacy laws, which presents a national security threat and is even being used to facilitate human trafficking. The bill makes certain international surrogate parentage contracts void and unenforceable. It also imposes criminal penalties on surrogacy brokers who facilitate these invalid agreements. Finally, the bill dictates that custody of a child born under an unenforceable agreement will be decided based on the best interests of the child under state law.
Yes· 3 of 6
- Scored +5
Would women be better off under this?
The bill protects surrogate mothers in the United States from exploitation by foreign entities of concern.
- Scored +5
Does this narrow the gap between how men and women are treated?
The bill aims to protect women in the United States from being exploited through commercial surrogacy arrangements by foreign entities of concern.
- Scored +4
Would children be better off under this?
The bill ensures that child custody decisions for voided arrangements are based strictly on the best interests of the child.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Protection Against Exploitation: Section 2 states that the bill aims to prevent foreign persons from abusing surrogacy agreements to exploit women in the United States, which helps protect financially-distressed Americans from being used to give birth to children for citizens of foreign entities of concern.
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Child Custody Protection: Section 6 ensures that legal custody of a child born from a voided agreement will be decided based on a determination of the best interests of the child under the law of the State where the surrogate parent resides, without giving any effect to the unenforceable surrogacy agreement.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Penalties for Brokers: Section 5 imposes criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment for not more than one year, on surrogacy brokers who knowingly or recklessly assist in the formation or execution of a surrogacy agreement that is void and unenforceable under the bill.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would women be better off under this? — The bill protects surrogate mothers in the United States from exploitation by foreign entities of concern. Would children be better off under this? — The bill ensures that child custody decisions for voided arrangements are based strictly on the best interests of the child. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — The legislation protects financially distressed Americans from being exploited by foreign nationals in commercial surrogacy agreements.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this narrow the gap between how men and women are treated? — The bill aims to protect women in the United States from being exploited through commercial surrogacy arrangements by foreign entities of concern. Does this tighten control of the border? — The bill addresses national security risks and human trafficking concerns related to foreign nationals utilizing domestic surrogacy.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this give the federal government more power? — The legislation establishes federal restrictions on surrogacy contracts and imposes criminal penalties.
- 8/4/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 7/30/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 7/29/2026
- 9 Cosponsors added.
- 7/21/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/6/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 11/4/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Marsha BlackburnRepublican · Tennessee
Jim BanksRepublican · Indiana
Ted BuddRepublican · North Carolina
John KennedyRepublican · Louisiana
Cynthia LummisRepublican · Wyoming
Mike LeeRepublican · Utah
David McCormickRepublican · Pennsylvania
Ashley MoodyRepublican · Florida
Mike RoundsRepublican · South Dakota
Pete RickettsRepublican · Nebraska
Dan SullivanRepublican · Alaska
Tim SheehyRepublican · Montana
Todd YoungRepublican · Indiana