Representatives Blake Moore, John Moolenaar Introduce Legislation to Prevent Foreign Adversaries from Abusing American Surrogacy Industry

Representatives Blake Moore, John Moolenaar Introduce Legislation to Prevent Foreign Adversaries from Abusing American Surrogacy Industry

WASHINGTON - Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT) and John Moolenaar (R-MI), Chairman of the Select Committee on China, introduced legislation to prevent foreign adversarial nations from abusing the American surrogacy industry to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children and traffic infants abroad.

The Stopping Adversarial Foreign Exploitation of Kids in Domestic Surrogacy (SAFE KIDS) Act invalidates commercial surrogacy agreements with citizens of foreign adversary countries, such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, and creates a misdemeanor for brokers-not surrogates-who knowingly facilitate these agreements.

Additional original co-sponsors of the bill include: Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Rich McCormick (R-GA), John McGuire (R-VA), Mike Kennedy (R-UT), Addison McDowell (R-NC), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Jefferson Shreve (R-IN), John Rose (R-TN), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Paul Gosar (), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), and Michael Rulli (R-OH).

"Allowing foreign adversaries unrestrained access to the U.S. surrogacy industry is a national security and humanitarian crisis waiting to happen," Rep. Moore said.Most of the developed world already bans international commercial surrogacy due to trafficking risks, and this bill is a strong step in the right direction to prevent bad-faith actors from taking advantage of U.S. surrogate mothers and the children they bear. Additionally, the national security and espionage risks that could emerge from China and Russia bringing children with U.S. passports into their countries should be further cause for alarm and grounds for immediate action."

"Chinese nationals are exploiting gaps in US law to buy children from America. This practice is an unconscionable attack on American values. In one reported incident, a Chinese national made clear his preference to have 20 American children through surrogacy. Horrifically, this is not an isolated case and China is a country with a pattern of human trafficking. This legislation will ensure accountability and protect innocent children from nationals of foreign adversary countries who want to buy American babies,"Chairman Moolenaar said.

"I commend Rep. Blake Moore for introducing the SAFE KIDS Act, legislation that establishes needed accountability and guardrails for the U.S. surrogacy industry. The transfer of American-born citizens to China poses serious national security and human rights concerns. This legislation would end the practice of U.S. surrogacy brokers facilitating arrangements with North Korea, China, and Iran, while protecting U.S. children and mothers from exploitation by bad-faith actors," Rep.Aderholt said.

"Foreign adversaries are taking advantage of American generosity and tolerance to undermine U.S. national security and commit espionage, including through our surrogacy programs. It's become dangerously common for malicious fraudsters of a foreign origin, particularly from Russia and China, to abuse our surrogacy programs to traffic children to their home countries. Without this bill, these wealthy foreign nationals exploit our rules to give their children, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, U.S. passports, allowing these individuals to gain the privileges of citizenship without ever raising them in the United States. That's why I am proud to cosponsor Congressman Moore's SAFE KIDS Act to establish firm regulations that protect American surrogate mothers and their children from trafficking risks and threats to our national security," Rep.Kiggans said.

"I have always defended the sanctity of life in all its forms, including standing firmly against the heinous practice of surrogacy trafficking. The SAFE KIDS Act is an effective and measured approach to preventing state-sponsored human rights abuses by China and Russia from occurring on our own soil," Rep.Dunn said.

"The SAFE KIDS Act closes a dangerous loophole that allows foreign adversaries to exploit our 14th Amendment through surrogate pregnancies. This bill protects vulnerable women and children while preventing hostile regimes from abusing U.S. birthright citizenship. I'm proud to co-sponsor this commonsense, national security-focused legislation," Rep.McCormick said.

"America's surrogacy system should never be exploited by foreign adversaries to traffic children or game our citizenship laws," Rep.McGuire said. "I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of the SAFE KIDS Act to protect women and children while closing an obvious national security loophole."

"Allowing foreign adversaries to exploit Americans, traffic infants, and manipulate our citizenship laws are evil practices we must stop, yet federal law has failed to keep pace," Rep.Kennedy said."The SAFE KIDS Act draws a clear line stating that America will not tolerate these abuses. This is exactly the kind of fight Congress must take on, and I welcome the opportunity to stand with my colleagues to see it through."

"It is absolutely disgusting how far our adversaries are willing to go. Exploiting newborns and vulnerable U.S. surrogate mothers to obtain American citizenship is a dangerous loophole that must be closed," Rep.McDowell said. "The Safe Kids Act gives law enforcement real authority to police and prosecute commercial surrogacy abuses, finally ending years of unchecked practices and putting national security and human dignity first."

"Protecting children and defending our national security are core responsibilities of Congress. The SAFE KIDS Act closes dangerous loopholes that allow foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party to exploit America's surrogacy system for their own gain. Vulnerable children should never be treated as commodities or shortcuts to citizenship for hostile regimes. This commonsense legislation restores accountability by stopping brokers from facilitating surrogacy arrangements with adversarial nations. I'm proud to support this effort to put the safety of children and the interests of the United States first," Rep.Moran said.

"The SAFE KIDS Act puts children and mothers first and shuts the door on foreign exploitation. Our laws should never allow adversaries like China to profit off vulnerable families or take advantage of women. This bill makes it clear: America will protect its people and enforce the law," Rep.Shreve said.

Background:

This bill was first introduced by Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and is the first of its kind to address national security and ethical risks posed by the largely unregulated U.S. surrogacy industry.

This legislation follows terrifying reporting on the abuse of newborns, as well as U.S. surrogate mothers who were deceived into giving birth to children for foreign nationals. The Wall Street Journal also found that a Chinese billionaire had more than 100 children born through surrogacy in the U.S., and that these babies could be brought (or even trafficked) to China as U.S. citizens instead of Chinese citizens.

The lack of regulation in the surrogate industry, which is bound only by informal guidelines from private groups, poses major risks that Congress can address.

While the Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy has attempted to provide a roster of ethical guidance for surrogacies, there is no legal mechanism to enforce surrogacy agencies' adherence.

Left unchecked by Congress, this issue poses long-term espionage risks of foreign adversary-connected parents raising children with U.S. passports, all due to an unchecked surrogacy process at home.

Full bill text can be found here.

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