Surrogacy is banned or effectively closed to intended parents across much of Europe - including Germany, Italy, France, and Spain - and across large parts of Asia, including China and Japan. Several countries that once welcomed foreign intended parents, such as India, Thailand, and Mexico, have since restricted or ended access. For parents living where surrogacy is prohibited, the United States remains the most established, safest and most ethical route to a gestational surrogacy journey with clear, court-recognized legal parentage. That gap is exactly what drew attention in July 2026, when a senior German party leader resigned after he and his husband had a child through a surrogate in the United States - a path his own country does not allow at home.
This page explains where surrogacy is restricted, why those restrictions exist, and why intended parents from ban countries so often build their families in the U.S. through a screened, attorney-led process.
Why is surrogacy banned in Germany?
Surrogacy is banned in Germany under the Embryo Protection Act, a 1991 law that prohibits a doctor from transferring an embryo to a woman who intends to give up the child after birth. Fertility treatment such as IVF is legal in Germany; arranging for a surrogate to carry a child is not, and a medical practitioner who helps do so can face up to five years' imprisonment. The prohibition is grounded in a stated concern for protecting women and children from the risks of commercial surrogacy.
An important nuance often gets lost: while surrogacy cannot be performed in Germany, it is not a crime for German residents to raise a child who was born through a surrogate abroad. What is uncertain for those families is legal parentage. Germany's Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) ruled in 2014 that a foreign court's parentage judgment can be recognized - but generally only where one intended parent is genetically related to the child and the surrogate is not. Families whose situation falls outside that pattern can face a difficult and uncertain process to be recognized as legal parents back home.
This is the context behind the story that put the question in the headlines. In July 2026, Jens Spahn, a senior figure in Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, resigned from that leadership role on July 18 after it became public that he and his husband had become parents through a surrogate in the United States. His party had reaffirmed its opposition to legalizing surrogacy at its February 2026 conference, and Spahn said that founding a family and continuing in the office were not compatible. Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the decision as understandable. The episode is a personal and political one, but it surfaced a practical reality for many German intended parents: the family Spahn built is one German law does not permit to be built at home, which is why intended parents in his position look abroad.
Where else is surrogacy banned or closed to intended parents?
Germany is not an outlier. Across much of Europe, compensated surrogacy is prohibited and surrogacy contracts are treated as legally void:
• Italy went the furthest. A law that took effect in November 2024 makes surrogacy a "universal crime," meaning Italian citizens can be prosecuted for pursuing surrogacy even in countries where it is legal, with penalties of up to two years' imprisonment and a fine of up to €1 million.
• France bans all surrogacy under its Civil and Penal Codes, and surrogacy contracts are null and void; French parents returning from surrogacy abroad have historically faced hurdles registering their children (Law Library of Congress).
• Spain does not permit surrogacy: contracts are invalid under its assisted-reproduction law (Law 14/2006), and Spanish authorities tightened recognition of surrogacy births registered abroad.
The picture is similar in parts of Asia. China and Japan do not permit commercial surrogacy. And the trend since 2020 has moved toward restriction rather than access - several countries that once served international intended parents have closed that door.
International bodies have added to the momentum. In October 2025, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, presented a report (document A/80/158) to the UN General Assembly that urged states to move toward abolishing surrogacy and called for a legally binding international instrument prohibiting the practice. It is important to be precise about what this is: a Special Rapporteur is an independent expert, and the report is a recommendation, not a binding decision by the UN or its member states, who remain divided. Separately, in 2026 a coalition of governments led by Italy and Chile launched a political declaration at the UN calling for a global moratorium. These are advocacy and policy developments, not settled international law - but they signal that the countries where surrogacy is already banned are unlikely to reverse course soon.
None of this changes the legal status of surrogacy in the United States, which is governed state by state and remains open to intended parents, including many coming from abroad.
What happened to Mexico, Thailand, and India - the places that used to be options?
A decade ago, intended parents priced out of, or unable to access, U.S. surrogacy sometimes looked to lower-cost destinations abroad. Most of those routes have since narrowed or closed, and the reasons are worth understanding, because they are the same concerns that drive the bans elsewhere.
India ended commercial and foreign-national surrogacy. Under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, foreign nationals can no longer access surrogacy in India at all, and the only surrogacy now permitted is altruistic - restricted to married Indian couples using a close relative as the surrogate, with no compensation beyond medical costs.
Thailand closed its market to foreign intended parents after a series of highly publicized cases in 2014. Its 2015 assisted-reproduction law banned commercial surrogacy and barred most foreign couples. A reform bill is under review that would broaden access - including for same-sex couples following Thailand's 2025 marriage-equality law, and for some foreign couples where one partner shares the surrogate's nationality - but that reform has not been enacted, and Thailand's ban on commercial surrogacy remains in force.
Mexico has no single national surrogacy law. Its legal landscape is a patchwork that varies by state, and while the country's Supreme Court has affirmed access to surrogacy in principle, the absence of a uniform framework has left foreign intended parents exposed to real difficulty - including, in past cases, being unable to obtain birth certificates or travel documents to bring their child home. Intended parents considering Mexico should treat parentage and documentation as open legal questions requiring country-specific legal advice, not as settled protections.
The common thread across India, Thailand, and Mexico is that lightly regulated, low-cost surrogacy markets proved vulnerable to exploitation and to legal chaos when something went wrong - the very outcomes a well-built process is designed to prevent.
Why do intended parents from countries that ban surrogacy come to the United States?
Intended parents from countries where surrogacy is banned come to the United States because it offers what those other systems could not: a legal framework that establishes who the parents are, and a process built to protect the surrogate as well as the intended parents. The exploitation concerns that ban-country governments cite are real. The response is not to pretend they don't exist - it is to build surrogacy the ethical way, with the safeguards that address them directly.
In a well-run U.S. gestational surrogacy journey, the surrogate has her own independent attorney, is medically and psychologically screened, agrees to her own compensation, and enters into a contract that is negotiated and enforceable. Legal parentage is established through the courts - in many states through a pre-birth order - rather than left to a contract that a later court might refuse to honor. Surrogacy law in the U.S. is set at the state level and varies significantly, so where the journey takes place matters; some states, including Connecticut, have long-established, supportive legal frameworks. You can read more in our overview of U.S. surrogacy laws by state.
One caution belongs here honestly: recognition of a U.S. parentage judgment back home depends on the intended parents' own country's law, and - as Germany's rules show - it is not guaranteed. That is a question to resolve with a lawyer in your home country before you begin, and it is one reason working with an agency whose foundation is legal, not just logistical, matters.
Can international intended parents pursue surrogacy in the US, and what does it involve?
Yes. International intended parents can and regularly do pursue gestational surrogacy in the United States, and the practical demands are more manageable than many expect. The surrogate is based in the U.S. and never has to travel abroad; the medical steps take place at U.S. fertility clinics; and communication between intended parents and their surrogate is handled through video calls, messaging, and email across time zones. In most journeys, intended parents need to be physically present in the U.S. only a small number of times - typically for the medical steps and for the birth - though many choose to attend milestones such as the embryo transfer or an ultrasound.
The parts that require real care are legal and administrative: establishing parentage in the U.S., obtaining the child's documentation, and understanding how the child's status will be treated when the family returns home. This is where an agency built around legal expertise, rather than referrals, makes the difference. If you are outside the U.S. and weighing surrogacy, the most useful first step is a conversation about your specific country and situation - you can read what the intended-parent process looks like and start there.
It is always important for international intended parents to have a home country lawyer who will advise the intended parents and their U.S. lawyers as to what they need to return to their home countries and to establish their child’s citizenship.
Are US state laws starting to restrict international surrogacy too?
Some are, in narrow ways, and the honest answer is that it is worth watching. Two developments stand out, and both should be read factually rather than as reasons for alarm.
Florida enacted HB 905, the Foreign Influence Restriction and Enforcement Act, which took effect July 1, 2026. Among its provisions, a gestational surrogacy contract entered into in Florida is void and unenforceable if any party is a citizen or resident of a "foreign country of concern" - a defined list that includes China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, and Venezuela (coverage). The law is specific to those countries and to contracts made in Florida; it does not restrict surrogacy for the many international intended parents who fall outside it.
Texas has not passed any such law, but is examining the issue. A Texas Senate committee took up an interim charge from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to study foreign use of Texas surrogates ahead of the 2027 legislative session, and the 2026 Texas Republican Party platform includes language supporting a ban on contract surrogacy involving foreign nationals. This is a policy debate that connects surrogacy to broader questions about immigration and citizenship; as of now it is a study and a party platform, not a law.
The practical takeaway for an international intended parent is not that the U.S. is closing - it is that state law varies and is in motion, so choosing where to build your journey, with legal guidance, matters more than ever. Our article on why birthright citizenship questions matter for families built through surrogacy covers part of this landscape.
How Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists supports intended parents coming from abroad
Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists was founded and is led by a practicing reproductive attorney, Victoria Ferrara, who has worked in reproductive law since 1984 and argued Raftopol v. Ramey before the Connecticut Supreme Court. For intended parents coming from a country where surrogacy is banned, that legal foundation is not a marketing detail - it is the exact thing the journey turns on. Every contract, parentage order, and surrogate agreement is shaped by legal expertise from the start rather than reviewed afterward, and your case manager stays with you from the first conversation through delivery, so the people who understand your situation do not change partway through.
If you are outside the United States and want to understand your real options - including how parentage and documentation would work for your specific country - the right next step is a conversation.
Book a consultation with our team → /parents/consultation
Read about surrogacy in the United States → /parents/surrogacy-in-the-united-states
Frequently asked questions
Is surrogacy legal in Germany?
No. Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany under the Embryo Protection Act of 1991, and a medical practitioner who helps arrange it can face up to five years' imprisonment. It is not, however, a crime for German residents to raise a child born through a surrogate abroad, though legal parentage in that situation can be uncertain.
Why did Jens Spahn resign in July 2026?
Jens Spahn, the leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in Germany's Bundestag, resigned from that leadership role on July 18, 2026, after it became public that he and his husband had a child through a surrogate in the United States - a practice Germany bans and his party formally opposes. He said starting a family and holding the office were not compatible.
Is surrogacy in Mexico safe for foreign intended parents?
Mexico has no single national surrogacy law, and its state-by-state patchwork has historically left foreign intended parents exposed to serious difficulty, including problems obtaining birth certificates and travel documents. Anyone considering Mexico should treat parentage and documentation as unresolved legal questions and obtain country-specific legal advice before proceeding.
Can same-sex international couples pursue surrogacy in the United States?
Yes. U.S. surrogacy law is set state by state, and many states establish legal parentage for intended parents regardless of marital status or sexual orientation. Because both state law and the couple's home-country recognition matter, same-sex international intended parents should confirm both with legal counsel before beginning.
Does Florida's new law ban international surrogacy?
No, not broadly. Florida's HB 905, effective July 1, 2026, voids gestational surrogacy contracts made in Florida when a party is a citizen or resident of a defined "foreign country of concern," such as China or Russia. It applies only to those countries and to contracts formed in Florida, and does not restrict surrogacy for international intended parents outside that category.
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