Pope urges global ban on surrogacy

Pope Francis called Monday for a global ban on surrogacy, saying the practice of a woman carrying another person’s child was “deplorable”. In his New Year’s address to diplomats at the Vatican, the 87-year-old pontiff said it was a “grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child”. In a speech dominated by calls for an end to conflicts around the world, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church said: “The path to peace calls for respect for life.”

This began “with the life of the unborn child in the mother’s womb, which cannot be suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking”, he said. “In this regard, 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.

“A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.” In June 2022, the pope condemned surrogacy as an “inhuman” practice. “Altruistic”

surrogacy, whereby a woman gives birth to a baby on behalf of another woman or couple but no money changes hands, excluding for expenses, is legal in countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, Brazil and Colombia. Commercial surrogacy is permitted in some US states.

In another development, Pope Francis on Monday condemned “war crimes” perpetrated against civilians in conflicts such as in Gaza and Ukraine, and said those killed should not be considered “collateral damage”. “The distinction between military and civil objectives is no longer respected,” the 87-year-old pontiff said in his New Year’s address to diplomats at the Vatican.

“There is no conflict that does not end up in some way indiscriminately striking the civilian population. The events in Ukraine and Gaza are clear proof of this,” he added. “We must not forget that grave violations of international humanitarian law are war crimes”, he continued, in a speech dominated by calls for an end to conflicts around the world.

Francis said people “need to realize more clearly that civilian victims are not ‘collateral damage’ but men and woman, with names and surnames, who lose their lives.” “Were we to be able to look each of them in the eye, call them by name, and learn something of their personal history, we would see war for what it is - nothing other than an immense tragedy,” he said.