The Vatican endorses an international campaign to ban surrogacy, calling for a global alliance to stop the “commercialization of life.” A conference hosted by a Vatican-affiliated university promoted an international treaty to outlaw surrogacy, arguing that it violates U.N. conventions protecting the rights of children and surrogate mothers. Pope Francis has also called for a global ban on the practice, labeling it as a violation of human dignity.
Proponents of the ban, including a woman born via surrogacy, argue that surrogacy violates children’s rights and reduces human procreation to a form of individual desire, with the affluent and powerful having an upper hand. The Vatican’s stance on surrogacy is rooted in its belief that human life should begin at conception and be respected from that moment on.
However, in a pro-surrogacy rally nearby, Italy’s main gay family advocacy group expressed opposition to proposals by the country’s government to criminalize Italians using surrogates abroad. The group argued that surrogacy is a legal and regulated practice that does not violate anyone’s rights or dignity.
In the U.S., Resolve, the National Infertility Association, opposes calls for a universal ban on surrogacy, emphasizing that everyone deserves the right to build a family and have access to all family building options. They highlight the strict regulations in the U.S. that safeguard all parties involved in the surrogacy process.
Despite differing opinions on surrogacy, the debate continues on whether the practice should be banned globally or if it should be regulated to protect the rights and dignity of all parties involved.
Source
Photo credit apnews.com