- Surrogates
- 19 min
Texas Surrogacy Law 2026: 9 Critical Things Every Gestational Carrier Needs to Know Right Now
Something is happening in Texas right now that every gestational carrier in the state, and every woman considering a surrogacy journey with a Texas-based agency or Texas-based intended family, needs to understand before it becomes law.
On July 8, 2026, the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services held a formal hearing at the Texas Capitol on the proposal to ban foreign nationals from contracting with Texas surrogates to have children. The hearing was not a fringe event. It was directed by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick himself, who issued the interim legislative charge specifically to examine what he called “the unethical and foreign interests exploiting the surrogacy and fertility industries in Texas.” The committee’s mandate is to produce recommendations that will shape legislation when the Texas Legislature returns in January 2027.
That session is six months away. The window for this to become law is real, and the window for surrogates to understand what it means for them is now.
This blog does not take a political position on any aspect of this legislation. What it does is give you a complete, honest, research-backed account of what is actually being proposed, what the evidence says, what surrogates who testified at the hearing said, what Texas fertility lawyers say about the impact, and what you specifically need to know if you are a gestational carrier or surrogate candidate in Texas today.
What Prompted the July 8 Hearing: The Legislative Background
Understanding what happened at the July 8 hearing requires understanding the context that produced it.
Earlier in 2026, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced his interim legislative charges, directing state senators to examine the exploitation of surrogacy in Texas ahead of the 2027 legislative session. The specific charge given to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services was to “examine the unethical and foreign interests exploiting the surrogacy and fertility industries in Texas” and to “make recommendations to end this exploitation and related harm to patients and children.”
That framing is important. The hearing was structured from the start around the premise that exploitation was occurring, and the committee’s job was to determine what to do about it. That is a different starting point from a neutral policy review, and it shaped the testimony that was solicited and the media coverage that followed.
The immediate political pressure behind the hearing came from two directions. First, the 2026 Texas Republican Party platform included explicit language supporting “a ban on contract surrogacy involving foreign nationals, which may involve a form of trafficking and may lead to claims of citizenship.” Second, national reporting throughout 2025 and 2026 on a small number of high-profile cases, including a widely circulated Wall Street Journal report about a Chinese billionaire who had fathered dozens of children via American surrogates, created political momentum that advocates for tighter regulation were able to use effectively.
According to reporting by the Texas Tribune, the move to cast surrogacy as a foreign threat came amid conservative groups’ belief that they would have success regulating surrogacy by framing it as a birthright citizenship issue and one that threatens national security. That framing has proven politically effective in other states, and Texas legislators have been watching what happened in Florida with particular interest.
What Happened at the July 8 Hearing: Testimony From Every Side
The hearing itself produced some of the most significant and diverse testimony on surrogacy that the Texas Legislature has heard in recent memory. Women came from across the state to speak. Fertility lawyers testified. Advocates on both sides of the surrogacy debate addressed the committee. And the data that emerged from state agencies complicated the narrative that had driven the hearing’s framing.
What Intended Parents Said
Miriam Shahab, who used gestational surrogacy after learning she would be unable to carry a child herself, told lawmakers directly: “When I look at my son, I see the greatest blessing in my life. A deeply loved, little Texas boy whose life was made possible through ethical gestational surrogacy.” Her testimony, and the testimony of other intended parents who spoke, centered the human reality of surrogacy as a family-building tool for people who have no other path to biological parenthood.
What Gestational Carriers Said
Whitney Scheibner, a gestational surrogate, told the committee: “I am here because I watched my sister struggle with infertility for years. I ask that any future legislation be narrowly tailored to address exploitation while preserving access to safe, ethical fertility treatment.”
Her framing was precise and deliberate: acknowledge that exploitation can occur, insist that any legislative response be targeted rather than broad. That distinction matters enormously for the thousands of surrogates who carry for American intended families and whose journeys are entirely ethical.
The Testimony That Drove the Anti-Surrogacy Narrative
Christian Ross, a former surrogate, told the committee about her experience contracting with a California-based surrogacy agency, becoming pregnant with a donor embryo belonging to a foreign couple, and later discovering she had been misled about who the couple was. The child ultimately ended up in the foster care system in England. “It ruined my life, and likely, that baby’s life as well,” Ross said.
Her story, and cases like it, represent the genuine exploitation that exists at the margins of an unregulated industry. The problem is that the legislative response being considered would apply broadly to all foreign nationals, not just those who engage in deceptive or exploitative practices.
What the Data Actually Showed
Audrey O’Neill, Commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, told the committee that her agency had received a small number of reports of surrogate exploitation, and that they are pretty rare. According to the KVUE report on the hearing, the Department of Family and Protective Services received three reports of abuse and neglect related to surrogacy in a recent period: two in May 2025 and one in November 2025. In two of the three cases, the intended parents were foreign nationals residing outside the U.S. In the third case, the intended parent was an American citizen with a history of child abuse.
Separately, data from the Texas Department of State Health Services presented at the hearing showed a total of 657 births via surrogacy in Texas in 2025. Against that context, three abuse reports over a period of months represents a rate that is notably lower than the national baseline for child abuse in domestic birth arrangements.
Austin surrogacy attorney Lori Anderson told the committee directly that she had not seen any evidence of her international clients ever using surrogacy in Texas for the purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for their child. “Without exception, all of my international parent clients returned immediately to their home countries with their newborn, excited to share with their extended families,” she said.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which sets the clinical standards for reputable surrogacy programs in the United States, has explicitly described the Texas legislative effort as “part of a larger attack that ASRM is monitoring on families who require gestational carriers” and has activated an action alert for Texas residents to contact their state senators.
What Is Actually Being Proposed: The Three Legislative Tracks
Understanding the Texas situation requires distinguishing between three separate but related legislative tracks that are moving simultaneously.
Track 1: The Texas Interim Charge and Potential State Legislation
The July 8 hearing was an interim charge hearing, meaning it produces recommendations rather than legislation. The committee’s findings will inform bills introduced when the Texas Legislature convenes in January 2027. No bill has been filed yet, which means no specific legislative text currently exists to analyze. What does exist is a political environment in which a broad ban on foreign nationals using Texas surrogates has explicit support in the Texas GOP platform and has been endorsed by the committee’s stated purpose.
The range of possible outcomes from the January 2027 session is wide. Texas could pass a narrow version of what Florida passed: a prohibition on surrogacy contracts involving citizens of specific countries designated as national security concerns. It could pass a broader prohibition on all commercial surrogacy arrangements with any foreign nationals. It could add licensing requirements for surrogacy agencies operating in Texas. Or it could add disclosure requirements without prohibition. Until bills are filed, the specific form of any legislation is unknown.
According to Christine Henry Andresen, an Austin-based attorney with CHA Law Group specializing in surrogacy law, “Texas surrogacy law changes of any kind would likely have a chilling effect on Texans struggling with infertility being able to complete their families through surrogacy here.”
Track 2: The Florida Model
Florida passed a law in 2026 prohibiting surrogacy and adoption contracts in which any party is a citizen or resident of a designated “foreign country of concern.” The countries currently designated under that law include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria. According to reporting by Houston Public Media, the Texas committee is watching the Florida law as a model for what targeted legislation could look like.
The Florida approach is more targeted than a blanket ban on all foreign nationals: it focuses on citizens of countries the U.S. government has identified as adversarial rather than applying to all international intended parents. An Israeli couple, a British couple, a Canadian couple, and a German couple would all still be able to enter surrogacy contracts under the Florida model. Under a broader ban, they could not.
Track 3: Federal Legislation
Congress is also considering the Stopping Adversarial Foreign Exploitation of Kids in Domestic Surrogacy Act, widely known as the SAFE Kids Act. As originally introduced by Senator Rick Scott in November 2025 and then introduced in the House by Representatives Blake Moore and John Moolenaar in January 2026, the SAFE Kids Act would invalidate commercial surrogacy agreements with citizens of foreign adversary countries and create misdemeanor penalties for brokers who knowingly facilitate those agreements. Critically, the legislation specifically excludes surrogates from such penalties: the criminal liability falls on brokers and agencies, not on the women who carry.
The SAFE Kids Act has not passed as of August 2026. It remains in committee. But its existence adds a federal dimension to what is currently playing out at the state level in Texas.
What This Means Specifically for Gestational Carriers in Texas Right Now
This is the section that matters most for you if you are a current or prospective surrogate in Texas.
Your current legal rights are unchanged
As of August 2026, no new Texas surrogacy law has been passed. The July 8 hearing produced no legislation. What it produced was testimony and a political signal about the direction of the January 2027 session. Your current rights as a gestational carrier in Texas are exactly what they were before the hearing.
The legislation being discussed targets agencies and intended parents, not surrogates
This is the most important clarification for surrogates to understand. The proposals under discussion, including the SAFE Kids Act at the federal level and the Florida model at the state level, place legal liability on agencies and brokers who knowingly facilitate prohibited contracts. They do not criminalize surrogates who carry pregnancies. The women testifying at the July 8 hearing on behalf of surrogates consistently asked lawmakers to target bad actors in the industry rather than the women who carry.
Your surrogacy contract is your primary protection
Regardless of how the legislative landscape evolves, your surrogacy contract is the document that protects your specific rights, your compensation, your medical decision-making authority, and your legal protections for the duration of your journey. A well-drafted contract does not become void because of legislative changes enacted after it is signed, and contracts executed before any new law takes effect would generally be governed by the law in place at the time of signing.
This makes working with your own independent reproductive attorney, separate from the agency and separate from the intended parents’ attorney, more important than ever. For a detailed breakdown of what a surrogacy contract must include to protect a gestational carrier, read: Surrogacy Contracts: A Comprehensive Guide.
Knowing who your intended parents are is not optional
One of the clearest lessons from the testimony at the July 8 hearing is that surrogates who were harmed were surrogates who did not know who they were carrying for. Christian Ross, the former surrogate whose testimony described a devastating outcome, told the committee she had been misled about who the couple was. That deception was made possible by an agency that did not prioritize transparency.
A reputable agency will always give you complete, accurate information about the intended parents you are being matched with, including their country of residence, their legal status, and the legal framework governing the arrangement in their home country and in Texas. If an agency is vague about who your intended parents are or where they live, that vagueness is a red flag regardless of what the Texas Legislature does in 2027.
This is covered in detail in our guide to choosing a surrogacy agency: How to Choose the Best Surrogacy Agency For You: What Surrogates Need to Know Before Signing.
If you are currently matched, your journey is not affected
If you are already matched with intended parents and your surrogacy agreement is signed, your journey proceeds under the legal framework that was in place when your contract was executed. Legislative changes passed in January 2027 would apply prospectively to new contracts, not to existing ones. This is the standard principle of contract law. Consult with your reproductive attorney about your specific situation, but there is no basis for concern about currently active journeys.
Agency location matters differently than it used to
One practical question that surrogates are asking in response to the Texas hearing is whether the location of their agency affects their exposure to any new legislation. The answer is more nuanced than it might initially appear.
Texas legislation would apply to contracts executed in Texas or involving Texas surrogates, regardless of where the agency is physically headquartered. A California-based agency can place a Texas-based surrogate with Texas-based intended parents, and Texas law would still apply to that arrangement. Conversely, a Texas-based agency can arrange a match involving a California surrogate, and California law would govern that arrangement.
What matters most is not where your agency’s office is located. What matters is your state of residence, the state where the birth will occur, and the legal framework your attorney uses to establish parentage. Your reproductive attorney should be licensed in the state where you will give birth, and they should be actively tracking how any new Texas legislation affects contracts in their jurisdiction.
Nascency operates with full transparency about every intended family in every match we arrange. Every surrogate we work with knows exactly who their intended parents are, where they live, and what legal framework governs their arrangement. Learn more about how Nascency supports surrogates through the legal dimensions of their journeys at nascency.com/surrogates.
The Broader Context: Why This Is Happening Now and What It Signals
Texas is not an isolated case. The political environment around surrogacy has shifted significantly in the past two years, and understanding that shift helps surrogates make more informed decisions about their journeys, their agencies, and the legal protections they need in place.
The birthright citizenship argument is new, and it is politically effective
The framing of surrogacy as a birthright citizenship issue is a recent development in anti-surrogacy advocacy. For years, opposition to surrogacy in the United States came primarily from religious and bioethics groups who objected to the practice on moral or philosophical grounds. The new framing, which connects surrogacy to immigration, national security, and foreign adversaries, gives legislators a different political justification for regulation that appeals to a much broader constituency.
This framing shift is why conservative groups told the Texas Tribune they believed they would have success regulating surrogacy this legislative session by tackling it as a birthright citizenship issue. It is not primarily about surrogacy. It is about immigration politics, and surrogacy is the vehicle.
For surrogates, understanding this framing matters because it explains why the legislative momentum exists even when the data does not support the scale of harm being claimed. Three abuse cases involving foreign nationals in a year that saw 657 surrogacy births in Texas does not, on its face, suggest a crisis requiring sweeping legislation. But the political framing does not depend on the data.
ASRM is actively monitoring and responding
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine has activated a formal advocacy response to the Texas interim charge. The ASRM has issued an action alert for Texas residents, created advocacy resources for fertility professionals and patients, and published commentary in medical journals describing the Texas legislative effort as part of a broader pattern of legislative overreach affecting families who require gestational carriers.
According to the ASRM’s July 2026 Advocacy in Action update, the organization is monitoring this situation closely and has described the hearing as part of a larger attack on families who require gestational carriers. ASRM advocacy carries significant weight in state legislative processes because reproductive endocrinologists and fertility clinics are a constituency with both medical authority and economic presence in every major Texas city.
Florida has already done this, and the results are being watched
Florida’s 2026 law, which restricts surrogacy contracts involving citizens of designated foreign countries of concern, became the first state-level legislation of this kind in the United States. Texas is watching Florida. Legislatures in other states are watching both. The Florida model is the most likely template for any Texas legislation, and it is a narrower version of what the most restrictive voices at the July 8 hearing were calling for.
If Texas follows the Florida model rather than enacting a broader ban on all foreign nationals, the practical impact on most gestational carriers in Texas would be limited: it would restrict matches with intended parents from a specific list of countries, not with international intended parents generally. The difference between those two outcomes is significant, and it is worth watching closely as bills are filed in January 2027.
9 Critical Things Every Texas Surrogate Needs to Know Right Now
1. No new law exists yet. The July 8 hearing was a committee hearing, not a legislative vote. Your current rights are unchanged. The legislative session that could produce new law begins in January 2027.
2. The proposals target agencies and brokers, not surrogates. At every level of proposed legislation, including the federal SAFE Kids Act, criminal liability falls on agencies and brokers who knowingly facilitate prohibited contracts, not on the women who carry pregnancies.
3. Your surrogacy contract is your primary protection. A signed contract executed under current law is not retroactively voided by future legislation. Work with your own independent reproductive attorney. Get everything in writing. Know exactly what your contract says about compensation, medical decision-making, and the identity of your intended parents.
4. Know who your intended parents are. The documented harms at the hearing involved surrogates who were deceived about the identity of the people they were carrying for. A reputable agency will always give you complete, accurate information about your intended parents’ country of residence and the legal framework governing the arrangement.
5. Agency location is less important than your state of residence. Texas law will apply to contracts involving Texas surrogates, regardless of where the agency is headquartered. What matters most is the law in the state where you live and where the birth will occur.
6. If you are already matched, your journey is not affected. Legislative changes apply prospectively to new contracts. Currently active journeys governed by signed agreements are not subject to laws passed after signing.
7. ASRM is actively advocating on your behalf. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine has issued formal advocacy resources for Texas residents and is actively monitoring the legislative situation. You can use their action alert to contact your state senators directly.
8. The Florida model is the most likely template. A targeted restriction on citizens of specific adversary countries is more politically achievable in Texas than a blanket ban on all foreign nationals. Watch the bills filed in January 2027 carefully. The specific text will determine the actual impact far more than the general political framing.
9. The next six months matter. The window between now and January 2027 is when surrogates, fertility lawyers, and reproductive health advocates can shape what Texas legislation looks like. If you are a Texas gestational carrier or surrogate candidate, this is the time to be informed, connected to a strong legal team, and paying attention.
What Nascency Is Doing in Response
At Nascency, we are tracking the Texas legislative situation directly, and we have been doing so since Lt. Governor Patrick issued the interim legislative charge earlier this year.
Our position is clear: exploitation in any industry, including surrogacy, deserves to be addressed. The documented cases of deception that were described at the July 8 hearing represent exactly what rigorous agency screening, transparent matching, and independent legal counsel for surrogates are designed to prevent. We believe in those protections not because the law requires them but because they are the right way to run a surrogacy program.
What we also believe is that the broad legislative response currently being discussed in Texas goes far beyond what the evidence supports, and that poorly drafted legislation will harm far more people, including American intended families struggling with infertility and the Texas surrogates who want to help them, than it will protect.
We will update our community directly as bills are filed in January 2027 and as the legislative situation develops. Every surrogate in our program works with their own independent reproductive attorney who is licensed in the state where they will give birth and who tracks the legal landscape in real time.
For more on how Nascency approaches the legal dimensions of surrogacy, read: Surrogacy Contracts: A Comprehensive Guide and Your Legal and Financial Rights as a Surrogate.
For more on what the full surrogate experience at Nascency looks like, including how we handle matching, legal support, and advocacy, visit nascency.com/surrogates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is surrogacy currently legal in Texas?
Yes. Gestational surrogacy is currently legal in Texas and is governed by the Texas Family Code, Chapter 160, Subchapter I, which provides the legal framework for gestational agreements. No new legislation has been passed as of August 2026. The July 8 hearing produced testimony and recommendations, not new law.
Will Texas ban surrogacy for foreign nationals?
As of August 2026, no ban has been enacted. The Texas Legislature will return in January 2027, and legislation may be introduced at that time. The most likely template based on current political momentum is the Florida model, which restricts contracts involving citizens of specific adversary countries rather than all foreign nationals. No specific bill text has been published.
Does any of this affect surrogates who are already matched?
No. Contracts signed and journeys underway under current law are governed by the law in place at the time of signing. Future legislative changes apply prospectively to new contracts.
What is the SAFE Kids Act and could it affect me?
The Stopping Adversarial Foreign Exploitation of Kids in Domestic Surrogacy Act is federal legislation introduced by Senator Rick Scott in November 2025 and introduced in the House in January 2026. It would invalidate commercial surrogacy contracts with citizens of designated foreign adversary countries and impose misdemeanor penalties on brokers who knowingly facilitate those contracts. Importantly, surrogates are specifically excluded from penalties under the bill. The SAFE Kids Act has not passed as of August 2026.
What should I do if I am a Texas surrogate or surrogate candidate right now?
Stay informed. Work with an independent reproductive attorney licensed in Texas who is tracking the legislative situation. Make sure your surrogacy contract clearly identifies your intended parents and their country of residence. Choose an agency that provides complete transparency about matching and that has clear protocols for vetting international intended parents. And connect with the ASRM’s advocacy resources if you want to make your voice heard in the legislative process.
Does Nascency work with surrogates in Texas?
Yes. Nascency supports gestational carriers across the United States, including Texas. Every surrogate in our program works with their own independent reproductive attorney. We provide complete transparency about every intended family in every match. We are actively monitoring the Texas legislative situation and will update our community as the January 2027 session approaches. Reach out at nascency.com/surrogates to learn more.
What is the difference between what Texas is proposing and what Florida already passed?
Florida passed a law in 2026 that prohibits surrogacy contracts in which any party is a citizen or resident of a designated “foreign country of concern” including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria. Texas is currently in the stage of gathering testimony and recommendations. Any Texas legislation would be introduced in January 2027 and could follow the Florida model, go broader to restrict all foreign nationals, or take a different approach entirely. Until bills are filed, the specific form of any Texas legislation is unknown.
How do I contact my Texas state senator about this issue?
The ASRM has published an action alert specifically for Texas residents that makes it easy to contact your state senators directly. You can access that resource at asrm.org.
Sources
- Texas Tribune: State Lawmakers to Explore Banning Foreign Nationals From Using Texas Surrogates (July 7, 2026):
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/07/texas-foreign-surrogacy-birthright-citizenship/ - Houston Public Media: State Lawmakers to Explore Banning Foreign Nationals From Using Texas Surrogates (July 7, 2026):
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2026/07/07/556424/texas-foreign-surrogacy-birthright-citizenship/ - CBS Austin / KVII Amarillo: Women Share Surrogacy Stories as Texas Lawmakers Weigh New Regulations (July 8, 2026):
https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/women-share-surrogacy-stories-as-texas-lawmakers-weigh-new-regulations - KVUE Austin: Lawmakers Consider Banning Foreign Contracting With Texas Surrogates (July 8, 2026):
https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/lawmakers-consider-banning-foreign-contracting-texas-surrogates-children/269-d476dd2e-64e1-442f-a241-d0bcdc23662c - Daily Signal: Texas Senate Reviews Foreign Surrogacy Amid Birthright Citizenship Debate (July 9, 2026):
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/07/08/texas-senate-foreign-surrogacy-birthright-citizenship/ - ASRM: July 2026 Advocacy in Action (July 14, 2026):
https://www.asrm.org/news-and-events/asrm-news/latest-news/july-15-2026-advocacy-in-action/ - Senator Rick Scott: SAFE Kids Act Press Release (November 5, 2025):
https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2025/11/sen-rick-scott-introduces-safe-kids-act-to-stop-foreign-adversaries-from-exploiting-u-s-surrogacy-laws - Representatives Blake Moore and John Moolenaar: SAFE Kids Act House Introduction (January 14, 2026):
https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-blake-moore-john-moolenaar-introduce-legislation-to-prevent-foreign-adversaries-from-abusing-american-surrogacy-industry - Florida Senate: SB 905 Foreign Countries of Concern Surrogacy and Adoption Law (2026):
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/905/BillText/er/PDF - Sharna Cáceres: Cáceres Law Firm, Surrogacy and Fertility Law Practice:
http://www.cacereslawfirm.com/bio - Nascency: Surrogacy Contracts: A Comprehensive Guide:
https://nascency.com/blog/surrogacy-contracts-a-comprehensive-guide/ - Nascency: Your Legal and Financial Rights as a Surrogate:
https://nascency.com/blog/your-legal-financial-rights-as-a-surrogate/ - Nascency: How to Choose the Best Surrogacy Agency For You:
https://nascency.com/blog/how-to-choose-best-surrogacy-agency-full-guide/ - Nascency: For Surrogates:
https://nascency.com/surrogates/ - Nascency: Learning Center:
https://nascency.com/learn/
