On March 20, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, in collaboration with Juristes pour L'Enfance, Le Syndicat de la Famille, and World Youth Alliance, held a side event entitled “Too High a Cost: End Surrogacy Now” in conjunction with the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. This event, moderated by Mr. Giorgio Mazzoli of ADF International, aimed to shed light on the growing concerns surrounding the practice of surrogacy, emphasizing its detrimental effects on the dignity and rights of women and children worldwide.
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See Mission to the UN, began by quoting Pope Francis’s recent remarks calling for “an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.”1 He remarked that by focusing exclusively on the desire of adults, humanity risks not taking the time to think through the risks to women, children and society as a whole. In particular, the Archbishop highlighted the economic factors involved which women cite as a reason for becoming surrogates, and that, while wealthy women frequently commission poor women to act as surrogates, the reverse is unheard of.
Archbishop Caccia stated, “Children have rights and interests which must be respected, starting with the moral right to be created in an act of love.” He encouraged all participants, including Member States as well as members of civil society and NGOs to work together to achieve “an international prohibition on this abusive practice.”
The highlight of the event was testimony from Ms. Olivia Maurel, who was born via surrogacy herself and is now an anti-surrogacy advocate. She highlighted the emotional toll of by being born via surrogacy, including how it undermines a child’s sense of identity. Reflecting on her own experience as a child born from surrogacy, she described the depressive state that she faces leading up to her birthday each year and questioned why children are expected to make sacrifices for adults' desires. She criticized the commodification of children through surrogacy arrangements, highlighting the lack of proper screening for commissioning parents and the erasure of children's real identities from their birth certificates. Maurel condemned the deceptive recruitment of surrogate mothers as a form of human trafficking, emphasizing the need for governments to fulfill their obligations in protecting the human rights of women and children globally. She also expressed her support as a feminist and children’s rights advocate to collaborating with others who oppose surrogacy whatever their ethical framework or other views.
Ms. Giulia Bovassi, a bioethicist and assistant professor at Universidad Anahuac, outlined the philosophical argument against surrogacy, namely that viewing the body merely as a means to profit dehumanizes individual women, reducing them to transactional devices for reproduction rather than acknowledging their intrinsic value. She questioned the moral legitimacy of such actions, highlighting the emotional detachment imposed on women during pregnancy to prevent bonding with the unborn child, ultimately leading to the commodification of children and their victimization within a society driven by economic interests.
Mr. Herveline Urcun, of Observatoire de la Procréation Assistée, highlighted the significant growth of the global surrogacy market, projecting a tripling of its value by 2027. Thus far, Europe has dominated the market, with North America and the Asia-Pacific region sharing the rest of the market. She also underscored the increasing prominence of surrogacy as a means of assisted reproduction worldwide, despite regulatory differences across regions and the challenges in accurately quantifying the prevalence of surrogacy arrangements. She emphasized the need for more comprehensive regulatory frameworks and data collection methods to understand and address the complexities of surrogacy practices globally.
Dr. Bernard Garcia-Larrain, the International Advocacy Officer of Juristes pour l’Enfance, underscored the necessity of a legal response to surrogacy at both the national and international levels. He emphasized that surrogacy often exploits vulnerable women for financial gain, violating their dignity and contravening principles of women’s emancipation. Dr. Garcia-Larrain stated that, “a global market requires a global response” and advocated for a global ban on surrogacy. Legalizing or regulating it in any form, he argued, undermines human dignity and perpetuates harm to women and children. He highlighted the Casablanca Declaration for the universal abolition of surrogacy as a crucial step towards securing human rights and protecting individuals from the negative consequences of surrogacy arrangements. However, he urged Member States to take the next step and develop a binding international legal mechanism to ban the practice.
Ms. Maurel and Dr. Garcia-Larrain emphasized the difference between surrogacy and adoption, namely that while surrogacy causes evil, adoption takes note of an existing evil and attempts to put in place action that alleviates moral wounds. Archbishop Caccia brought the event to a close by expressing solidarity and closeness with Ms. Maurel, emphasizing that all were happy that she was there, but were not happy with the suffering she has had to endure, and hoped that with the increased attention brought to the practice of surrogacy, action from the international community would soon follow.
The full event can be live-streamed via this link: http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k15/k15dezq9ig
