§ 20-165 Surrogate brokers prohibited; penalty; liability of surrogate brokers
A. It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other entity to accept compensation for recruiting or procuring surrogates or to accept compensation for otherwise arranging or inducing an intended parent and surrogates to enter into surrogacy contracts in this Commonwealth. A violation of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B. Any person who acts as a surrogate broker in violation of this section shall, in addition, be liable to all the parties to the purported surrogacy contract in a total amount equal to three times the amount of compensation to have been paid to the broker pursuant to the contract. One-half of the damages under this subsection shall be due the surrogate and her spouse, if any, and if such spouse is a party to the contract, and one-half shall be due the intended parent. An action under this section shall be brought within five years of the date of the contract.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the services of an attorney in giving legal advice or in preparing a surrogacy contract.
History
This law was first created in 1991. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 600 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1991 “Acts” aren’t available online. It has been modified 3 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2010, chapter 712; in 2019, chapter 375; in 2020, chapter 900.
1991, c. 600; 2010, c. 712; 2019, c. 375; 2020, c. 900.