On January 27, the Kansas State Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare conducted hearings on proposed legislation that would make surrogate parent contracts void and unenforceable in the state. . . .
Woman after woman testified to being pro-life, married to a devout Catholic, or serving on her church board, all attempting to build up a religious ethos in support of surrogacy. One surrogate stated, “It’s an honor to share my body.” Another described how, as a nineteen-year-old single mother who “wanted a better life” for herself and her child, she completed a total of four surrogate pregnancies; the supplemental income from surrogacy allowed her to go back to school. These women talked about “the blessings of surrogacy” and “the gifts of God,” about being able to bring children into their homes through surrogacy and how the surrogate women were “angels” giving “the greatest gift of life.” . . .
In New York state, which currently does not permit paying surrogates, advocates for gay rights are fighting to lift that ban. In the District of Columbia, where the Surrogacy Parenting Agreement Act of 2013 has been introduced by gay council member David Catania, gay men with surrogate-born children testified. In Louisiana and Kansas, by contrast, LGBT advocates played a considerably more “behind the scenes” role. A state senator in Kansas thanked Kansas Equality Coalition for finding witnesses, but notably Kansas Equality Coalition representatives themselves did not provide any testimony.