Pope Francis this Monday called for a universal ban on the “despicable” practice of surrogacy, including the “commercialization” of pregnancy, in an annual address listing threats to world peace and human dignity.

In his address on the “state of the world” to the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, the Pope Francisco He lamented that 2024 has arrived at a moment in history when peace is “increasingly threatened, weakened and partly lost.” Francisco, 87, said so the life of the fetus must be protected and not “suppressed or converted into an object of human trafficking,” and called on the international community “to universally ban this practice (of surrogacy).”

“The path to peace requires respect for life, for all human life, beginning with that of the child who is not born in the womb and who cannot be oppressed or turned into a commercial product,” the Pope declared during his audience with the members of the diplomatic corps of the Holy See before the beginning of the year.

“In this sense, I find the practice of so-called surrogacy deplorable, which seriously affects the dignity of women and children; and is based on the exploitation of the situation of material needs of the mother,” he added.

“For this reason, I call on the international community to commit to universally banning this practice,” he urged.

In June 2022, Francis condemned surrogacy as an “inhumane” practice and routinely expressed the Catholic Church’s opposition to what he called a “womb for rent.”

The Catholic Church is against this medically assisted reproductive technique, which consists of implanting an embryo in the uterus of a surrogate mother, who gives the baby to the requesting couple after birth.

In November 2023, the Vatican indicated that children of same-sex couples, adopted or born through surrogacy, could be baptized.

Legal in Colombia

Commercial surrogacy, that is, where the surrogate mother receives financial compensation, is allowed in some states of the United States. There are also a few other countries that allow it.

Some European countries ban the practice, including Spain and Italy. But “altruistic” surrogacy, in which a woman gives birth to a baby on behalf of another woman or couple but without any money changing hands other than expenses, is legal in countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and Colombia.

Major current crises

Francis’ denunciation of surrogacy came as part of a broader speech lamenting the major crises facing humanity. Citing Russia’s war in Ukraine, the war between Israel and Hamas, the migration and climate crises and the “immoral” production of nuclear and conventional weapons, Francis gave a long list of the evils plaguing humanity and the increasing violation of international human law. .

In his geopolitical summary, Francis mentioned Russia by name and noted that “the Russian Federation’s large-scale war against Ukraine” had made progress.

The Pope today highlighted the “dangerous routes” on which migrants risk their lives, such as the jungles of Darien, Central America, the Sahara and especially the Mediterranean Sea, which “has become a great cemetery over the past decade.” ”

“Unfortunately, over the past decade, this last route has become a major cemetery, with tragedies continuing to occur, including at the hands of unscrupulous traffickers. Let us not forget that among the many victims there are also many unaccompanied minors. (JO)