Pope Francis called Monday for a universal ban on what he called the "despicable" practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the "commercialization" of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity. In a foreign policy address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Francis lamented that 2024 had dawned at a time in which peace is "increasingly threatened, weakened, and in some part lost." Citing Russia's war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, migration, climate crises, and the "immoral" production of nuclear and conventional weapons, the AP reports that Francis delivered a list of the ills afflicting humanity and the increasing violation of international humanitarian law that allows them.
But Francis also listed smaller-scale issues that he said were threats to peace and human dignity, including surrogacy. He said the life of the unborn child must be protected and not "suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking." "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," he said. Saying a child is a gift and "never the basis of a commercial contract," he called for a global ban on surrogacy "to prohibit this practice universally." Francis has previously voiced the Catholic Church's opposition to what he has called "uterus for rent."
Although commercial surrogacy is common in the US, including with protections for mothers, guarantees of independent legal representation, and medical coverage, it's banned in parts of Europe, including Spain and Italy. Russia's war in Ukraine and the threat to babies born to surrogate Ukrainian mothers exposed the country's thriving industry. Ukraine is one of the few countries that allow surrogacy for foreigners. Critics say commercial surrogacy targets poor women and those from vulnerable communities. Supporters say surrogacy gives women a chance to provide children to childless couples, and that commercial contracts protect both surrogates and the intended parents.
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