Surrogacy Worldwide
Surrogacy is a common practice that is used worldwide for women who want to become mothers, but for a certain reason are not able to. Therefore, something of this nature being banned can certainly be devastating for those women and may cause distress worldwide.
Additionally, there are many couples that rely on this practice in order to raise a family of their own, a dream for many. However, due to a recent inquiry by Pope Francis himself, this dream may be crushed for many couples that are looking for a surrogate mother.
What is Pope Francis Declaring?
Pope Francis’ declaration is to completely ban the practice of having a surrogate mother universally. To many, this comes as a shocker, that the Pope would do something of this manner. But the Pope has many reasons that he presented to the Vatican for why he wants this ban to happen.
“I deem deplorable 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,” Francis said in prepared remarks. “A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.” Additionally, Pope Francis equates surrogate motherhood as “child trafficking.” Therefore, this furthers the proposition he has laid before the Vatican Council.
Financial need is also another reason as to why critics are backing up what Pope Francis is declaring. “Critics of the practice warn of the potential for a ‘poverty bias’ against women who become surrogate mothers due to financial need,” according to NBC 5 News.
Support From Other Countries
There are other countries, such as Italy, that are completely on board with this ideology. They, as well as Pope Francis, state that this is an exploitation of low-income women, and have used the same terminology “uterus for rent.”
“In May, Francis and Ms. Meloni appeared onstage together in Rome for a conference about increasing Italy’s low birthrate. Ms. Meloni said it was critical to make clear that “birth is not for sale, that the womb is not for rent and children are not over-the-counter products that you can choose and then perhaps return,” according to The New York Times.
In order to combat surrogacy, Italy has made it a crime, punishable by jail time and a large fee for those that resort to surrogacy. Therefore, this is a huge question of ethics, and according to the Pope and others, this is morally wrong.
The Future of This Issue
This is clearly a question of morality, and whether or not people are going to agree with it is something that should be seen within the near future. However, this argument certainly goes both ways and there are many arguments that flood each viewpoint. Additionally, this can go one of two ways. It is approved and implemented, or it is denied by the Vatican and it continues to stand as legal.
Being that there are two sides to this, there will certainly be debates and arguments that are hosted. However, only time will tell if a decision is reached, and what that will impose on the world. Either way, there will be a majority that is not pleased with the decision that is made. They will believe that it will not benefit the world in any way.
Protests may very well be generated because of this very hot topic.
Written by David Loran Jr
Sources:
The Washington Post: Pope Francis calls surrogacy ‘deplorable,’ calls for global ban
NBC News: Pope calls for universal ban on surrogate parenting, calls it ‘deplorable’
The New York Times: Francis Urges Ban on Surrogacy, Calling It ‘Despicable’
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of European Parliaments’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Andy Lederer’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License