Pope Francis recently raised an important life issue that is often neglected within the pro-life movement – the practice of surrogacy. In his foreign policy address on January 8th, the Pope called for a global ban on surrogacy, calling it a “despicable” practice and placing it among a list of threats to global peace and human dignity.
A surrogate mother is, by definition, “A woman who agrees, often for pay, to give birth to a child resulting from artificial insemination or the implantation of an already fertilized egg and who surrenders any parental rights to a third party.” The pay can be substantial, often hundreds of thousands of dollars.
While supporters may laud surrogates for providing children to childless couples and individuals, the practice of surrogacy is fundamentally exploitive. Having previously termed the practice “uterus for rent,” Pope Francis warned against surrogacy as “a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child” that exploits mothers and treats children as “the basis of a commercial contract.” As pro-lifers, we are committed to protecting the dignity of human life at all stages. Commercial surrogacy not only treats children as commodities but reduces women to the machines compensated for producing them.
Moreover, surrogacy involves the harvesting of eggs, which carries numerous health risks as well as its own perverse financial incentives. College students and recent graduates are told they can pay down student loans or travel internationally by “donating” their eggs for thousands of dollars. Here, a same sex couple is offering $90k for a successful egg retrieval from a donor with a “strong educational background.”
Surrogacy is a booming industry, nearly tripling in value from $6 billion in 2018 to $17.9 billion in 2023. While many countries have banned surrogacy within their borders, most allow their citizens to pay for surrogates from other – usually poorer – countries. This creates an inherently coercive exchange as rich couples and individuals buy babies from poor women. A 2018 report found that Ukrainian surrogates could “earn up to $20,000 – more than eight times the average yearly income.”
Perhaps even more concerning, the lack of US regulations on commercial surrogacy have made our country a leading producer of surrogate births worldwide. Only three US states currently prohibit paid surrogacy – and even those states allow for compensation for any costs related to the surrogacy arrangement, including travel and mental health care.
With the National March for Life taking place this weekend in DC, it is important that we consider often overlooked issues pertaining to the pro-life movement. Commercial surrogacy is exploitive and commodifies both the mother and the child and as such disregards the sanctity of human life. Life Legal has received inquiries related to surrogacy, including a recent call involving a surrogate mother who was pressured to abort her baby because of a genetic anomaly. Unfortunately, we were not able to speak with the mother directly, but we offered resources and legal support to encourage her to carry her baby to term.