Experts urged the European Union last week to take steps toward banning surrogacy following its adoption of a resolution condemning the practice amid a United Nations report calling for its eradication worldwide.
A group of experts convened at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, last Wednesday to discuss human rights concerns surrounding the practice of surrogacy, which involves the artificial insemination of a woman so she can carry a baby for nine months, only to surrender the child to a third party upon giving birth. The event was titled “Surrogacy: An Ethical and Political Challenge for Europe,” according to the conservative nonprofit legal organization ADF International.
Last week’s event followed the European Parliament’s approval of a Nov. 13 resolution on a Gender Equality Strategy. The European Parliament is one of two legislative bodies for the EU.
Specifically, the resolution “condemns the practice of surrogacy, which involves the reproductive exploitation and use of women’s bodies for financial or other gain, in particular the case of especially vulnerable women in third countries.” The resolution calls on the European Commission to “take measures to support ending this phenomenon.”
“Surrogacy treats women and children as commodities,” said ADF International Advocacy Officer Carmen Correas at Wednesday’s event. “The European Union has taken an important step in acknowledging its inherent harms. We urge policymakers to move swiftly toward a clear, coordinated legal prohibition that protects the dignity and rights of all involved.”
Paolo Inselvini, a member of the European Parliament from Italy who spoke at the meeting, reacted to what unfolded by stating, “Today it became clear that a determined European front exists, committed to stopping reproductive exploitation across the globe.” He vowed that “We will therefore continue to fight so that Europe abandons all ambiguity and assumes a clear responsibility: surrogacy must be a universal crime.”
The resolution comes after Reem Alsalem, the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, issued a report earlier this year examining “the different manifestations of violence against women and girls in the context of surrogacy.” The report maintains that “Unlike other forms of labour, surrogacy entails the direct and exploitative use of a woman’s bodily and reproductive functions for the benefit of others, often resulting in long-lasting harm and in exploitative circumstances.”
“Commercial surrogacy arrangements place monetary value on women’s capacity to bear and give birth to healthy children, reinforcing harmful power imbalances in which individuals and entities with greater financial means exert control over the ability of females to become pregnant and give birth,” the report added. Alsalem, whose report called on countries around the world to begin “eradicating surrogacy in all its forms,” joined Correas and Inselvini as speakers at Wednesday’s meeting.
According to the website Surrogacy 360, several countries have bans on surrogacy in place, including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Egypt, El Salvador, Indonesia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey and Turkmenistan.
Surrogacy is also banned in several member states of the European Union: Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
