This lays it out pretty much:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_lawbut the issue hasn't been decided yet at the court level. The law recognizes the child if one parent is a citizen, but this is a scientific way of having children and is different that what has already be decided/argued at least as far as I know.
Dave
First off, reliance on Wikpedia can be deceiving. I won;t say any more than that, EXCEPT to say that everyone points to it like its "facts" are written in stone.
The law recognizes a foreign born child, if at least one parent is a U.S. citizen, DEPENDANT on certain residency requirements. If both parents are U.S. citizens, legally married in any jurisdiction, then it doesn;t matter where the child was born.
However, a child born to a surrogate mother is not a U.S. citizen. As in the previous post, we are talking current law, NOT whether a court might decide something someday. If we look at it that way, then ANY crime or ANY legal matter is irrelevant if we say "Well, a court might decide differently". Of course they might. We see, more and more everyday, numerous examples of the Courts MAKING law or, UN-making laws that were written. That is not their function and to postulate that they might is akin to giving them the right to (continue) to do so.
Ok.... so let's postulate (((
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John and Jane Doh! are Americans. Both are legally married in Kentucky. They go to India where an Indian woman carries Jane's baby to term. WHen the baby is born, it is born to Tashira (Indian woman), NOT to John and Jane Doh!
So, John and Jane want to bring this baby of "theirs" back to America. They find that the baby is not a U.S. citizen. They file a suit in Federal court. Since the issue is unusual, the Court may decide that, under certain conditions, a baby born in this manner is a U.S. citizen. Or they may decide against. The point is, up until they do decide one way or another, the baby is a foreigner...an alien...a person not a U.S. citizen.
Now, maybe they adoted this child that Tashira gave birth to? Ok, with certain requirements, i.e. certain conditions being met, the child may be a U.S. citizen under current law. But that's assuming they adopted the child legally under Indian's law.
In the end....under current law....the baby's an Indian at best.