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H.R. 9868 bars federal courts from enforcing surrogacy contract clauses that require a surrogate mother to abort, while requiring courts to enforce her agreed compensation regardless of any such clause.
OUR POSITIONThe Preventing Forced Abortions Act of 2026 (H.R. 9868) addresses a specific and serious abuse that has emerged from the commercialization of surrogacy: contract clauses that purport to require a surrogate mother to undergo an abortion at the demand of an intended parent, another contracting party, or any agent of such a party. The bill operates exclusively through federal courts and does not prohibit surrogacy arrangements broadly.
Section 2 contains two operative rules. First, a federal court may not enforce any surrogacy contract provision requiring the surrogate mother to have an abortion at the request of any intended parent, party, or agent of any party. Second, and equally important, a federal court must enforce the surrogate mother's agreed compensation notwithstanding any such abortion clause. The bill explicitly extends this protection to three specific contract mechanisms: liquidated damages assessed for refusing to abort, reductions in payment tied to that refusal, and any other provision designed to compel abortion by a contracting party or their agent.
Section 3 adds a new jurisdictional grant, Section 1370 of Title 28, giving federal district courts original jurisdiction over civil actions where the matter in controversy is a surrogacy contract in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce. This ensures the substantive rules of Section 2 have a federal forum in which to operate and that surrogate mothers are not left to navigate a patchwork of state forums when seeking to enforce their compensation rights.
No commercial contract can compel a person to undergo a medical procedure, least of all one that ends a human life. Scripture is unambiguous that human beings are formed and known by God before birth (Psalm 139:13-16). A surrogacy clause demanding abortion does not merely violate a woman's conscience; it purports to give one contracting party authority over whether another human being lives or dies. Federal courts should never be instruments for enforcing such a claim, and this bill ensures they will not be.
The bill also protects the economic dignity of surrogate mothers. By severing the abortion demand from the payment obligation, the law ensures that a surrogate who refuses to abort cannot be financially penalized through withheld compensation, liquidated damages, or reduced payment. This protection is targeted, enforceable, and grounded in a principle that should command broad agreement: contracts that coerce abortion have no place in American law.
HB9868 was introduced in the House on July 22, 2026, and was referred that same day to the House Committee on the Judiciary, where it currently sits without a scheduled hearing as of the available record. Bills referred to committee without subsequent action remain there unless the committee chair schedules a markup or hearing, meaning the legislation has not advanced beyond its initial referral stage. The 119th Congress is scheduled to adjourn in January 2027, leaving a limited legislative window for committee action. Constituent contact is most impactful now, while the bill is in committee, particularly directed at members of the House Judiciary Committee who have direct influence over whether a hearing is scheduled.