Pope Francis condemned surrogacy today in his strongest terms yet, calling it deplorable and saying that it turns unborn babies into objects of “trafficking.”
The head of the Catholic Church made the remarks during his “State of the World” address at the Vatican today.
As part of remarks meant to affirm respect for human life and, specifically, unborn children, Pope Francis told the audience the “path to peace” requires respect for all human life, including babies before birth, which is “a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.”
“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,” the Pope said on Monday.
“Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.”
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The hiring of a surrogate mother is “a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” Pope Francis said. He called surrogacy a “deplorable” practice that turns unborn children “into an object of trafficking.”
“A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract,” he said.
The pontiff called for banning the practice, saying it creates a “uterus for rent” situation that exploits women.
This is not the first time the pontiff has spoken against surrogacy; in June 2022, he denounced it as an “inhuman” practice.
