Pope Francis has not been ambiguous about the Church’s stand on motherhood surrogacy and today he has once again railed against the practice, stating that an unborn child must not be “turned into an object of trafficking.” Francis added, “I consider despicable 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.”
Surrogacy is a controversial practice that involves a woman carrying a child for another person or couple who cannot conceive naturally. In almost all cases it is done for a monetary compensation and the website surrogacy.com highlights this:
“Surrogates can make between $50,000 and $110,000 in total compensation. There are a couple factors that will determine where you fall within that range, like being a second-time surrogate. Your location and income level will also be factors in how much you make as a surrogate.
For many surrogates, this base compensation allows them to move toward a financial goal or help better their family’s situation. For example, many women use this surrogate mother pay to put a down payment on a house, pay off their student loans or continue their education, start saving for their children’s educations and more.”
Surrogacy is illegal in many countries, including Italy, where the pope lives. Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned surrogacy as a violation of human dignity and a form of exploitation of women and children. He has called for a global ban on surrogacy, saying that children are never the basis of a commercial contract and that they are a gift from God. In a larger context, Pope Francis sees surrogacy as one of the practices that the West uses to aggressively exploit the poorer countries.
The pope’s position on surrogacy has been criticized by some LGBTQ activists and supporters, who argue that surrogacy is a legitimate way to form a family and that it respects the rights and wishes of all parties involved.
Pope Francis is well known as a liberal Pope, yet he has been unwavering in his condemnation of two practices: abortion and surrogacy. He has equated abortion with “hiring a hitman to resolve a problem.”
In the past weeks Francis allowed blessings for same-sex couples, and this may have been taken as a developing leniency in the Church’s position towards LGBTQ+ practices. Yet this is not the case, as he has since clarified that blessings do not constitute a “justification” or “endorsement of the life that they lead.” Same-sex couples are among those who avail themselves of surrogacy.
Today’s declaration is merely a reiteration of previous statements. On another occasion this past year he told a group that “while it is appropriate” to use “the most advanced scientific knowledge and technologies” to enhance legitimate desires to conceive, “it is wrong to create test tube embryos and then suppress them, to trade in gametes and to resort to the practice of surrogate parenthood.”
