“It is deplorable”: Pope Francis calls for banning surrogacy

First modification: 01/08/2024 – 22:53

3 min

In a speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity, Pope Francis called for a “universal ban” on surrogacy.

“I consider the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood to be deplorable, which seriously offends the dignity of women and children; and is based on the exploitation of the mother's situation of material need. A child is always a gift and never the object of a contract,” the pontiff told the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.

In the speech this Monday, December 8the pontiff assured that the life of the unborn “must be protected and not be suppressed or converted into a product” that can be made available for sale.

A position that aligns with the determination of the Catholic Church towards this issue for several years; However, although the Vatican opposes so-called “surrogacy wombs,” its official doctrine has made it clear that homosexual parents who opt for surrogacy can freely agree to baptize their children in that religion.

And although this practice has been summarized as “surrogacy” and is shown as an alternative to same-sex or heterosexual couples who cannot conceive on their own, each country has its opinion on the matter.

Reports from the United States National Institutes of Healthassure that surrogacy is nothing more than “a type of pregnancy in which a woman carries a baby in her womb, instead of another person who cannot have children, until she gives birth.”

AND also explains that sometimes this is also “an option for men and women who want to have children but have received certain cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which sometimes cause sterility.”

A technique rejected by the Catholic Church and restricted in many countries

This is not the first time that Pope Francis has made strong statements against surrogacy. In June 2022, the pontiff described this practice as “inhuman” and recalled that the process of giving life to a human being is a “natural” act in which human hands should intervene little.

Precisely this point is supported by many States around the world, as they consider that the technique could be authorized when it is done on the basis of an “altruistic” situation or for the purposes of benefiting family members, but without any interest. or economic transfer involved.

While countries such as Spain, France, Germany, Poland and Italy prohibit this technique with several years in prison for those found guilty, commercial pregnancy of this type is authorized in Ukraine, Greece, or some states in the United States, with prices of the procedure that can exceed $79,000.

“At every moment of its existence, human life must be preserved and protected, although I note, with regret, especially in the West, the persistent spread of a culture of death that, in the name of false compassion, discards children, the elderly and the sick,” insisted the head of the Catholic Church.

Each country has shielded itself from this practice in a different way. In the case of Germany, the Embryo Protection Law of 1990 protects “the unborn” and therefore the use of donor eggs, the transfer of more than three embryos to the uterus and surrogacy can be punished with up to three years in prison, according to official data.

In France the penalty is similar, but a fine of up to $47,000 is added for individuals found related to this process. For clinics that promote the technique, the French country can sanction them with up to $77,000 and five years in prison for their directors.

In Ukraine, on the other hand, before the war with Russia that began in February 2022, there were about 30 clinics dedicated to surrogacy, a census collected by the international agency VittoriaVita, which also estimated the costs of the process between 32,000 and $43,000, extremely low prices compared to the $110,000 that could be charged in the United States.

In Greece and Russia the State prevented homosexual couples from accessing this practice and only heterosexual couples can opt for surrogacy.

With EFE and Reuters.