In a recent statement, Pope Francis strongly criticized the practice of surrogacy, calling it a “grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child” and deeming it “deplorable.”
His remarks, delivered to diplomats at the Vatican, emphasized the need for a global ban on surrogacy, which he described as exploitative and dehumanizing.
Pope Francis’s criticism of surrogacy aligns with longstanding Church teaching. Surrogacy, which involves a woman carrying and delivering a baby for another person or couple, has been a contentious topic globally. The Pope highlighted the practice’s tendency to exploit financially vulnerable women, reducing children to mere objects of a commercial transaction.
The Pope’s call for a universal ban on surrogacy comes at a time when the surrogacy industry is growing rapidly, with a projected market value of $129 billion by 2032. He pointed out that a child “is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract,” underscoring the importance of preserving human dignity and rejecting any form of commodification of human life.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) also echoed the Pope’s sentiments.
Chieko Noguchi, the USCCB’s spokesperson, reiterated that with surrogacy “an unborn child is turned into ‘an object of trafficking’ because it exploits the birth mother’s material needs and makes the child the product of a commercial contract,” emphasizing the Church’s stance that surrogacy is morally impermissible.
Pray for the sanctity of life and human dignity!
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