Pope Francis is calling for a worldwide ban on surrogate motherhood, claiming the practice not only exploits the mother, but also the child.
“I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” Francis said in 45-minute “State of the World” speech.
🇻🇦- His Holiness Pope Francis calls for a ban on surrogacy-
— The Zoomer Dissident (@zoomerdissident) January 8, 2024
“I consider despicable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs”… pic.twitter.com/sln8wIpHIE
“A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract,” he added of the practice—which is already illegal in Italy. “Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.”
Spain and Taiwan also have an outright ban on the practice.
What is Surrogacy?
Surrogacy is the practice of a woman carrying the biological child of another individual or couple. The surrogate mother is artificially inseminated. She will then carry the child until its birth.
In the traditional process, the surrogate’s egg (the biological mother) is fertilized by the sperm of the birth father. With gestational surrogacy, otherwise known as “in vitro fertilization” (IVF) the biological parents donate both sperm and egg that will fertilize and subsequently be inseminated into and carried by the surrogate.
In the U.S., surrogacy is legal. However, it is not regulated by the federal government, leaving it up to individual states to pass their own laws governing surrogacy. Surrogacy contracts are legal in several states, including California, Illinois, Arkansas, Maryland and Utah. While some allow paid surrogacy (or commercial surrogacy), where the surrogate is allowed to be financially compensated, others solely permit “altruistic” surrogacy, where no money is exchanged.
Paid surrogacy is banned in Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Brazil, Britain and Australia, although some forms of altruistic surrogacy are permitted.
New York has some of the most robust protections for surrogates in the country. Surrogates must be 21 and be paid at least $34,000.
