Rome — Pope Francis on Monday called for surrogate motherhood to be banned worldwide, calling the practice of surrogacy “deplorable” and saying an unborn child “can’t be become an object of trafficking.”
In a wide-ranging speech to ambassadors of the 184 countries which have diplomatic relations with the Vatican, the pope said surrogacy represented a grave violation of the dignity of the lady and the kid and that it exploited surrogate moms’ financial circumstances.
Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
“A toddler is all the time a present and never the idea of a industrial contract,” Francis said.
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In 2022, the pope called surrogacy “inhuman,” saying “women, just about all poor, are exploited, and kids are treated like goods.”
Laws on surrogacy differ widely all over the world. Only a number of countries, and some states within the U.S., allow industrial surrogacy. Others allow “altruistic” surrogacy, where no money is exchanged. Many other nations, including most in Europe, have banned it altogether.
Francis included surrogacy in his list of conflicts and divisions threatening world peace in his annual speech to the diplomat corps, sometimes known as the pontiff’s “state of the world” address. This yr he also reflected on the continuing wars within the Gaza Strip and Ukraine, the immigration crisis, climate change, arms proliferation, antisemitism, the persecution of Christians and artificial intelligence, amongst other topics.
The pope said the wars in Gaza and Ukraine prove that each one conflicts find yourself indiscriminately affecting civilian populations where they’re fought.
“We must not forget that grave violations of international humanitarian law are war crimes,” he said.
