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Pope Francis delivers his speech during the “State of the World” address to members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on January 8, 2024.
CNN –
Pope Francis has called for a global ban on surrogacy, calling the practice “deplorable” in a speech in Vatican City on Monday.
“I consider the practice of so-called surrogacy to be deplorable, which represents a serious violation of the dignity of the woman and the child and is based on the exploitation of the material needs of the mother,” the pope said.
“A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.”
Pope Francis said he hoped the international community would make efforts to “ban this practice worldwide.”
“Human life must be preserved and defended at every moment of its existence,” he added.
The Catholic Church has long opposed surrogacy and in vitro fertilization because they say it depersonalizes conception and discards some embryos, which it says amounts to abortion.
Surrogacy is illegal in Italy and several other countries, while in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, surrogacy is legal but restricted and commercial surrogacy is banned. Surrogacy laws vary from state to state in the United States.
Surrogacy provides a path to parenthood for those who have difficulty becoming pregnant, as well as same-sex couples and individuals who are unable to conceive on their own.
However, there have long been ethical concerns about surrogacy, including whether the practice is exploitative.
Some of his approaches to current issues have drawn detractors from the church's more traditionalist wing, including his openness to communion for divorced and remarried Catholics, his pastoral welcoming of LGBTQ people, and his focus on migrants and the climate crisis.
Last month, Pope Francis officially allowed Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, marking a significant shift in the church's approach to LGBTQ+ people. The blessings may be performed as long as they are not part of regular church rituals or liturgies or coincide with a civil partnership, according to a Vatican document approved by the pope.
However, he takes a firm line on abortion, which he compares to hiring “a hitman to solve a problem” and surrogacy. In 2022, Pope Francis said surrogacy was an “inhumane and increasingly widespread practice of 'rented womb' in which women, almost always poor women, are exploited and children are treated as commodities.”
10:46 – Source: CNN
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In his address on Monday, Francis also said that he “notes with regret, especially in the West, the continued spread of a culture of death that singles out children, the elderly and the sick in the name of a false compassion.”
Francis' opposition to surrogacy was framed in the context of his longstanding criticism of a culture in wealthier countries that rejects life and concerns that new life is being “subjected to a commercial contract.” He has frequently criticized the “idolatry of the market” that neglects the needs of the human person.
The pope was also concerned about falling birth rates, particularly in Italy, and urged political leaders to address the economic and social factors that discourage younger couples from having children. In this area he has joined forces with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, encouraging Italians to have more children, while Meloni also strongly opposes surrogacy.