H.R. 7293 — Protecting Children in Surrogacy Act

This section prohibits a covered sex offender (i.e., a sex offender required to register on the National Sex Offender Registry) from knowingly obtaining a child through surrogacy or entering into a surrogacy contract as an intended parent if any interstate or foreign commerce nexus is present (e.g., travel, payment, communication, or equipment involving interstate commerce), with penalties of a fine, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both. It further directs federal courts not to enforce any surrogacy contract in which an intended parent is a covered sex offender.

This section establishes original jurisdiction in U.S. district courts over all civil actions involving a surrogacy contract (i.e., a contract setting forth terms for a surrogate mother—defined as a female who agrees to conceive and bear a child—to transfer custody or parental rights to one or more intended parents) in circumstances described in section 2(b) of the Protecting Children in Surrogacy Act. The section also defines related terms, including “child” (an individual under 18 years of age) and “female” (an individual with, or who would have but for anomaly or accident, a reproductive system that produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization).