Surrogacy Debate Peaks in Rome: Children’s Rights or Right to Children?

The Vatican has thrown its weight behind a global movement to outlaw surrogacy, hosting a conference to advocate for an international treaty to ban the practice. The initiative argues that surrogacy contravenes U.N. conventions safeguarding the rights of children and surrogate mothers, questioning the ethical implications of entitlement to childbearing at any cost versus the inherent rights of children.

During the conference, which attracted U.N. representatives and various experts, the Vatican’s support for banning surrogacy was prominently highlighted, reflecting Pope Francis’s earlier denunciation of surrogacy as a “despicable” act that commodifies human life and exploits women in financial distress.

The campaign has seen varying global responses, with countries like Canada and the United States maintaining regulated surrogacy programs that attract international couples, while other nations impose fewer restrictions.

Olivia Maurel, a key advocate for the ban, shared her personal experience at the conference held at the LUMSA university. Born through surrogacy in 1991, Maurel described her mental health struggles stemming from what she perceived as early-life abandonment. Despite recognizing some positive outcomes of surrogacy, Maurel emphasized that her circumstances reflected a sacrifice made for adults’ desires, challenging the ethical justifications for the practice.

Supporting Maurel’s viewpoint, Monsignor Miloslaw Wachowski from the Vatican secretariat of state criticized surrogacy for reducing human procreation to mere transactions dominated by those with wealth and power. He advocated for a broader coalition beyond religious groups to push for the ban, emphasizing the need for diverse, pragmatic alliances to achieve this goal.

Concurrently, Italy’s leading gay family advocacy group, Rainbow Families, protested a potential law by Italy’s government that would criminalize engaging surrogates abroad, highlighting the existing surrogacy ban within Italy since 2004.

In contrast, Resolve, the National Infertility Association in the U.S., defended surrogacy as a vital option for individuals battling infertility, highlighting the stringent regulations that protect all parties involved in surrogacy agreements in the U.S.

As discussions and debates continue, the Vatican plans to further articulate its stance on human dignity in a forthcoming position paper, maintaining its traditional view that human life, ideally, should begin naturally between a husband and wife rather than through artificial means like in vitro fertilization and surrogacy.