The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky House Bill 697 Bans Commercial Surrogacy and Establishes Criminal Penalties
Last action · March 2, 2026: to Judiciary (H)Sponsors: Nancy Tate and 2 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky HB 697 prohibits any person, agency, or organization from operating, facilitating, advertising, or entering into arrangements within the Commonwealth or with a Kentucky resident. Under the measure, commercial surrogacy contracts are declared void and unenforceable as against public policy, while strictly defined remains lawful.
The measure exposes individuals and organizations facilitating to felony criminal prosecution, corporate charter forfeiture, and civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
- Commercial surrogacy laws vary significantly across U.S. states, with some jurisdictions permitting and regulating the practice while others ban or void commercial contracts. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Surrogacy brokers and agencies
Prohibited from operating, advertising, or facilitating commercial surrogacy services involving Kentucky residents under threat of felony prosecution and civil penalties.
Surrogates
Women acting as surrogates are explicitly exempted from criminal liability under the bill.
Kentucky residents
Prohibited from entering into commercial surrogacy agreements, and any such contracts they sign are rendered void and unenforceable.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does HB 697 ban all forms of surrogacy in Kentucky?
What penalties do commercial surrogacy brokers face under the bill?
Are children born through commercial surrogacy penalized?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Mar 2, 2026HouseCommitteeto Judiciary (H)
- Feb 23, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of Criminal Penalties for Surrogacy Facilitation
The bill shifts Kentucky law by classifying commercial surrogacy facilitation as a felony offense and voiding related contracts.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 80)
- Controversy85Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools