Sen. Rick Scott's Surrogacy Bill Blocked Again by Senate Democrats

U.S. Senator Rick Scott attempted to pass his Stopping Adversarial Foreign Exploitation of Kids in Domestic Surrogacy (SAFE KIDS) Act on the Senate floor Tuesday night, but Senate Democrats blocked the legislation by unanimous consent, marking the second time this year the bill has failed to advance.

Scott's bill targets what he describes as a national security threat: the practice of citizens from hostile nations, particularly China, using American surrogates to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children. The Florida Republican pointed to recent reporting from major outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, and New York Magazine that have highlighted exploitation and trafficking concerns tied to international commercial surrogacy arrangements.

"American citizenship is not for sale, and our enemies cannot be allowed to buy it," Scott said during his floor remarks. He noted the issue originated from a case affecting one of his Florida constituents, which prompted him to raise the alarm in July. Since then, he said, similar stories have gained national attention, underscoring what he views as a gap in U.S. law.

The SAFE KIDS Act would invalidate commercial surrogacy agreements involving citizens of adversarial nations—China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea—and create a misdemeanor penalty for brokers who knowingly or recklessly facilitate such arrangements. Surrogates themselves would not face criminal charges under the proposal. Currently, no federal law directly addresses international commercial surrogacy practices.