{"id":881,"date":"2026-05-11T13:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881"},"modified":"2026-05-11T13:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:08:14","slug":"surrogacy-is-modern-day-slavery-florida-ag-argues-in-push-to-stop-the-practice-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881","title":{"rendered":"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>

A woman holds one of her twin daugthers born to a Ukrainian surrogate mother in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhgorod on April 14, 2011. (Photo by OLEXANDER ZOBIN \/ AFP) (Photo by OLEXANDER ZOBIN\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>

Read more Tsunami of sewage from Mexico barrels toward US coastline, officials warn<\/a><\/p> <\/div><\/div> <\/div>

Florida\u2019s top law enforcement official described surrogacy as “modern day slavery” on Saturday as his office is reported to be lining up to challenge the practice as unconstitutional.<\/p>

“This modern day slavery is morally wrong, endangers children, and threatens national security. It must be stopped,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote in\u00a0a social media post<\/u>.<\/p>

What they’re saying:<\/p>

<\/div>

Uthmeier went on to allege that “registered sex offenders and foreigners\u2013including Chinese nationals\u2013buy thousands of babies from U.S. surrogacy companies.”\u00a0<\/p>

The post did not detail Uthmeier\u2019s specific concerns over those who live internationally and get custody of children born through surrogacy in the United States, nor did it describe the threat to national security.<\/p>

Read more Mom charged after toddler found with tattoo in \u2018deplorable\u2019 home: police<\/a><\/p>

The backstory:<\/p>

The Florida Attorney General\u2019s Office is reportedly looking to interject itself into what was expected to be a routine custody case filed by prospective French parents, the family\u2019s lawyer told\u00a0the Miami Herald<\/u>, saying the office is arguing that surrogacy violates the Thirteenth Amendment, which was enacted after the Civil War to end slavery in the United States.<\/p>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

A Broward County, Florida, judge approved the parents\u2019 filing to gain early custody of their surrogate child; however, his ruling noted that if unborn children have personhood, then they cannot be subject to an ownership contract, the newspaper explained. The case has reached the appellate level, the report noted, but the fathers have had custody since the child was born.<\/p>

Uthmeier\u2019s office has been contacted for further comment and this story will be updated with any response.<\/p>

Read more Iran latest: US, Iran blame each other for negotiations deadlock<\/a><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida\u2019s top law enforcement official described surrogacy as \u201cmodern day slavery” on Saturday as his office is reported to be lining up to challenge the practice as unconstitutional.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-u-s"],"yoast_head":"\nSurrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice - Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Florida\u2019s top law enforcement official described surrogacy as \u201cmodern day slavery" on Saturday as his office is reported to be lining up to challenge the practice as unconstitutional.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T13:08:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/16fd96bad607bb97a8197fd482dab9be.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"headline\":\"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T13:08:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881\"},\"wordCount\":350,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e86a3eb6b9a505bcbf25614e1ee8bc6.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"U.S.\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881\",\"name\":\"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice - Houston Moving Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e86a3eb6b9a505bcbf25614e1ee8bc6.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T13:08:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e86a3eb6b9a505bcbf25614e1ee8bc6.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e86a3eb6b9a505bcbf25614e1ee8bc6.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=881#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Houston Moving Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice - Houston Moving Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice - Houston Moving Journal","og_description":"Florida\u2019s top law enforcement official described surrogacy as \u201cmodern day slavery\" on Saturday as his office is reported to be lining up to challenge the practice as unconstitutional.","og_url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881","og_site_name":"Houston Moving Journal","article_published_time":"2026-05-11T13:08:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":764,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/16fd96bad607bb97a8197fd482dab9be.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba"},"headline":"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice","datePublished":"2026-05-11T13:08:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881"},"wordCount":350,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e86a3eb6b9a505bcbf25614e1ee8bc6.webp","articleSection":["Health","U.S."],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881","name":"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice - Houston Moving Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e86a3eb6b9a505bcbf25614e1ee8bc6.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-11T13:08:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e86a3eb6b9a505bcbf25614e1ee8bc6.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e86a3eb6b9a505bcbf25614e1ee8bc6.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=881#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Surrogacy is \u2018modern day slavery,\u2019 Florida AG argues in push to stop the practice"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/","name":"Houston Moving Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}