Florida AG Calls Surrogacy ‘Modern-Day Slavery’ – He’s Correct

Standing in alignment with human dignity and the protection of the vulnerable, Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier has gone on record, describing commercial surrogacy as “modern-day slavery” and is moving to intervene in a high-profile case that could reshape how the state views this troubling practice.

The case involves two men from France seeking to secure parental rights over a child born to a surrogate mother in Florida. What began as a seemingly routine matter took a significant turn when a judge questioned the constitutionality of surrogacy, invoking the idea of fetal personhood and comparing the arrangement to treating a child as property, a direct violation of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States.

Attorney General Uthmeier’s office stepped in, asserting the government’s duty to safeguard children who have no voice in these transactions. His team argues that those who contribute genetic material must retain parental rights and responsibilities, rather than commodifying human life for profit.

Uthmeier warned: “Registered sex offenders and foreigners, including Chinese nationals, buy thousands of babies from U.S. surrogacy companies. This modern-day slavery is morally wrong, endangers children, and threatens national security. It must be stopped.” He couldn’t be more correct.

A Biblical worldview informs us that every child is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God (Psalm 139:14). And not only does life begin at conception, but all children are a heritage from the Lord (Psalm 127:3), not products to be bought, sold, or contracted away.

Surrogacy, particularly commercial surrogacy, reduces the sacred bond between mother and child, and the God-ordained family structure, to a business transaction.

This practice exploits women, treating their bodies as vessels for hire, whilst severing the natural maternal connection that Scripture honors. It also creates deliberate situations where children are intentionally separated from their biological mothers, denying them the very design God intended for family.

The Attorney General’s intervention highlights a truth this generation must understand: when profit drives the creation and transfer of human life, it echoes the grave sins of exploitation and idolatry condemned throughout the Bible.

Judge Marlon Weiss rightly raised alarms by linking surrogacy to property rights over persons, drawing on concepts of fetal personhood long championed by the pro-life movement. If unborn children bear the full dignity and rights of persons, a view rooted in both science, Scripture and recognized in our Constitution, then contracts that treat them as transferable goods cannot stand.

This case underscores the urgent need for Florida, and the whole of the USA, to ban commercial surrogacy. Without clear prohibitions:

• Children suffer: They are denied the stability of their biological roots and the God-designed mother-child bond.
• Women are exploited: Financial pressures can coerce mothers into arrangements that harm their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
• The family is redefined: Traditional, biblical marriage and parenthood are undermined in favor of consumer-driven “family building.”
• Broader threats emerge: As Uthmeier noted, this industry opens doors to serious risks, including involvement by those who may harm children and foreign interests that do not share American values.

Christians have a moral imperative to speak out against this modern expression of evil. Just as the church has stood against abortion for the sanctity of life, we must oppose surrogacy for the same reasons: it commodifies God’s image-bearers.

Policymakers should heed this moment to enact strong protections that honor life, affirm motherhood, and defend the fundamental family as Scripture defines it.

Florida AG Uthmeier’s courageous leadership offers hope that more leaders will soon recognize surrogacy for what it is: a profound moral failing dressed up as compassion. Pray for wisdom in the courts and for boldness in our legislators.

The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications not only for surrogacy but for the protection of life and parental responsibilities across the state.

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