Background on bill SF 1152/HF 1000
The Surrogacy Abuse Prevention Act: HF 1000 (Zerwas) / SF 1152 (Benson)
What the bill DOES…
- Prevents the exploitation of women and the commodification of children
- Creates a regulatory framework for surrogacy arrangements in Minnesota based on the Legislative Surrogacy Commission’s Recommendations
- Provides safeguards and legal protections for both the gestational surrogate and the intended parents
- Requires a background check and mental health evaluation for both gestational surrogates and intended parents
- Imposes standard requirements for valid surrogacy contracts in Minnesota
- Ensures that rights of parentage are transferred upon compliance with the surrogacy contract
- Forbids for-profit commercial surrogacy arrangements
- Outlaws predatory, for-profit surrogacy agencies and brokers, and requires all surrogacy agencies to be licensed by the Department of Health
- Clarifies that the “best interests of the child” standard will be applied in custody disputes related to surrogacy arrangements
- Protects the rights of children by allowing disclosure of the identification of the gestational surrogate
- Prevents international surrogacy arrangements, ensuring that children born through surrogacy will receive the protections and rights of the laws and Constitution of the United States
- Requires the Department of Health to collect aggregate data on surrogacy arrangements
What the bill does NOT do…
- Ban surrogacy
- Prevent gestational surrogates from receiving compensation for reasonable expenses related to their pregnancy
View the current Senate version (SF 1152) and House version (HF 1000) of the bill.