Pope Francis has strongly condemned surrogacy, labelling it as “despicable” for exploiting mothers and children. He has proposed a universal ban on the practice. In a meeting with global ambassadors this week, he emphasized that all life, particularly the unborn in the womb, should not be subject to suppression or objectification.
Regarding surrogacy, he identified it as a severe violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, leading to the exploitation of the mother’s financial necessities. Continuing on the theme of children, he underscored that a child is always a gift and should never be part of any commercial contract. The Pope expressed that he would like the international community to strive towards universally banning this practice.
Pope Francis voiced his regret at the continued spread of a ‘culture of death’ predominantly in the West. In this, the weak such as children, the elderly, and the sick are discarded under the banner of false compassion.
Dr. John Haas, a bioethicist, highlighted that surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) tend to result in the intentional destruction or freezing of embryos. He noted that there are almost one million such frozen embryos in the US alone. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco echoed Pope Francis’s stance, elaborating on how the desire for a child, while commendable, does not justify transforming human beings into commodities.