Senate committee narrowly rejects surrogacy bill

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota Senate committee has narrowly rejected a measure that would have criminalized commercial surrogate pregnancy agents, making it unlikely for such a ban to win approval this year. The Senate Health and Human Services voted down the bill 4-3 Wednesday, after a debate pitting some families who have used surrogates for pregnancy against critics who argue the practice exploits and endangers women and babies.

The proposal would have made acting as a surrogacy agent a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. It would have made South Dakota one of a handful of states to criminalize the practice.