During his global diplomatic address, Pope Francis called surrogacy "deplorable" and called for a universal ban on the "despicable" practice.
He shared these powerful words:
"The path to peace calls for respect for life, for every human life, starting with the life of the unborn child in the mother's womb, which cannot be suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking."
Pope Francis is 100 percent right.
Surrogacy is a "deplorable" practice because it treats both mother and child as products to be rented and sold, violating their dignity.
Commercial surrogacy today has a global market value of $175 million.
Yet this industry is dangerous and often unregulated, resulting in both women and children being exploited and commodified.
It's common for wealthy foreigners to travel to impoverished countries to rent out the wombs of poor women who are struggling to provide for their own families—and because of it, Ukraine, Georgia, Columbia, Thailand, and Israel have banned commercial surrogacy in an attempt to end this exploitation.
However, in the U.S., there are few laws regulating surrogacy, and women and children have suffered. Along with exploiting women and intentionally breaking natural bonds of love between mother and child, surrogacy also leads to the killing of babies deemed "unwanted."
In 2018, Stephanie Levesque was pressured to abort the child she was carrying after the baby boy was diagnosed with a heart defect.
When she refused, the purchasing couple, two men, sued.
Surrogate Brittney Pearson was forced to abort the child she was carrying after doctors recommended early delivery for her health.
The same-sex couple renting her womb didn't want a premature child and they refused to let Brittney adopt the baby saying "they didn't want their DNA out there."
Other women have faced life-threatening health issues.
Surrogates have higher rates of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, postpartum depression, and chronic illness than women who are carrying their children.
Many of those risks extend to the baby.
Other children have fallen victim to potential abuse.
YouTuber Shane Dawson, who has openly admitted to searching for child sexual abuse material and sexually abusing animals, purchased 12 embryos and hired a surrogate woman with his husband to gestate twin boys.
However, no background check was required.
Surrogacy is fundamentally wrong because it enables people to act as if they are entitled to another's reproductive abilities - the body of the woman whose womb they are renting. It also treats children like property that can be bought, sold, or killed at will.
Everyone who cares about defending the dignity of human life should be deeply concerned about the practice of surrogacy.
It's time we stop this deplorable practice. Women and children deserve better.
For Life,
Lila Rose
President and Founder
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