Pope Francis called Monday for a universal ban on the “despicable” practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the “commercialization” of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity.
In a foreign policy address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Francis lamented that 2024 had dawned at a time in history in which peace is “increasingly threatened, weakened and in some part lost.”
Citing Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, migration, climate crises and the “immoral” production of nuclear and conventional weapons, Francis delivered a lengthy laundry list of the ills afflicting humanity and the increasing violation of international humanitarian law that allows them.
But Francis also listed smaller-scale issues that he said were threats to peace and human dignity, including surrogacy. Francis said the life of the unborn child must be protected and not “suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking.”
No, that’s not what’s happening.
Poor women and women in poor counties are used as baby ovens for the wealthy, or those with the means to rent their wombs. Which is why he specifically refers to it as the “commercialization”.
He’s saying that’s exploitive and immoral as there as children waiting to be adopted. So instead of “renting” a poor women’s womb, adopt a child instead.
Also, FWIW I’m pro-choice, but that doesn’t mean I should pretend everyone who thinks differently is evil.
Opposing abortion isn’t always about a misogynistic need to control women. For some people it’s a genuine belief that life begins at conception, which is what Pope Francis appears to sincerely believe.
That doesn’t extend to everyone, and I’d go so far as to say most of the Evangelical American pro-life movement are just reactionary hateful shitstains who are genuine misogynists that wouldn’t hesitate to get their mistress an abortion.
Anyways, just my $0.02
I would highly suggest people look into the international surrogacy programs/companies and their issues. I want to say Radiolab may have done a podcast about it. Basically western couples think they are giving a life changing amount of money to a women in poverty, but in reality the companies pocket most of the money and the women are kept in substandard conditions sometimes.
It’s not something I think we should outright ban, but the industry is in dire need of international attention and regulation.
You figure he’d be on board with creating more kids for Catholic priest to rape and molest.
“Commercializing pregnancy”
Yeah, allowing my friend living with lupus to have a healthy biological child. They treated the surrogate as a member of the family, even long after the birth. Fuck you, pope.
The entire concept of surrogacy started exactly as a means for wealthy couples to have children without the need for the woman to “ruin” her body with a pregnancy.
The example you cite is, at best, an exception not the norm.
There is no shame in adopting or never having children, both of which are better options than to subject another human being to carry a child they will not raise or keep contact.
Oh so your examples are how it “started” and mine are “exceptions” therefore you win. Whatever.
That is not how a conversation is handled.
You voice your opinion, I voice mine, then we keep comparing ideas in order to advance the others understanding of it.
I did not attack you, I pointed issues to your statement and added my own counter points.
Are you two substantially disagreeing?
When surrogacy is merely a luxury to spare the rich mother the discomforts of bearing a child, it can be bad, and for other reasons such as health and infertility it’s totally fine?
Why didn’t they just adopt? There’s 100k+ children waiting to be adopted right now in the US. Why go through all the trouble and effort of surrogacy just to have a biological child? Seems weird to me.
Because adoption isn’t as easy as it sounds. A couple friends of ours started the process 5 or 6 years ago and weren’t having any luck (even after spending tens of thousands of dollars on the process) and weren’t having success so they asked someone we know to be a surrogate for them in 2019 and had their son in 2020. It wasn’t until literally two weeks ago that they finally got placed with their adopted child from several states away from a young pregnant woman who didn’t want to keep the baby. The adoption process costed them significantly more than the surrogacy. They could afford it because one is a physician but this highlights how difficult it is unless you want to adopt an older child who most likely has behavioral issues after being forcefully removed from a bad situation.
It sounds like your buddies specifically wanted a newborn which led to the difficulty. Why? A three, four, or five year old doesn’t meet their standards?
Most of those 100k kids waiting to be adopted are older kids. A lot of people want to start with an infant. Not everyone is equipped to adopt a teenager who has been in foster care for years. Then there are people who want bio kids.
Source? My buddy adopted last year and had no problem finding an infant for adoption.
Religion once again tackling the important issues…
“Unborn child must be protected and not suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking”.
Until he is born that is, right?
