Shocking Bill Passes, Allowing Mothers to Auction Babies to Highest Bidder

(FeaturedHeadlines.com) State lawmakers in Massachusetts approved legislation that would enable expecting mothers to sell their unborn kids. The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill, titled the Parentage Equality Bill, which eliminates the mention of mothers and fathers from parentage laws in the state.

The legislation instead defines parenthood based on an individual’s “intent” to parent a child. The bill is meant to provide legal protection to people who get children through surrogacy.

The state House of Representatives passed the bill in a unanimous vote of 156 in favor and zero opposed. The legislation now heads to the state senate for consideration.

The bill authorizes commercial surrogacy—the exchange of a child for money—including in cases where the mother is genetically related to the child she is carrying. The legislation would allow women to arrange their own pregnancy and then auction off the child to the highest bidder. However, auctioning off the child would only be legally permissible if it were framed as surrogacy, not adoption.

Moreover, the legislation could allow women to accept money in exchange for sex, due to a provision related to natural conception of a child for surrogacy. The bill would allow exchanging money for sex, but only if the woman conceives a child and gives up any parental rights.

Such surrogacy laws have previously been used as a guise for criminal activity. Three women in California were convicted in 2011 for operating an illegal baby-selling scheme under the cover of a surrogacy agency.

Proponents of the bill contend that it is intended to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community and others who use surrogacy to obtain a child. Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano said that the law reflects an “evolving society” and advancements in technology.

Although the bill may have been drafted with good intentions, concerns about the potential for people to abuse such legal changes persist. It is now up to the Massachusetts Senate to determine whether it is worth taking the risk.

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