Pope Francis calls for universal ban on surrogacy

Pope Francis called this Monday (8) for a global ban on motherhood through surrogacy, calling the practice “deplorable” and a serious violation of the dignity of women and children.

Francis' comments are likely to antagonize pro-LGBT+ groups, as surrogacy is often used by gay partners who want children, and follow his landmark decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.

“I consider the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood to be deplorable, which represents a serious violation of the dignity of women and children, based on the exploitation of situations of material needs of the mother,” he said.

“Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to ban this practice universally.”

Francis, 87, made his comments in a 45-minute speech to diplomats accredited by the Vatican.

There are few statistics on the number of babies born through surrogacy. Due to ethical concerns, the practice is illegal in many countries around the world, as well as in some US states.

Critics of the practice warn about the possibility of a “poverty bias” against women who become surrogate mothers due to financial need.

But interest continues to grow as more women choose to delay pregnancy until later in life, when fertility declines, and as more same-sex couples look for ways to form families when they are unable to conceive on their own.

Francis, who leads the world's more than 1.35 billion Catholics, also reaffirmed the Vatican's condemnation of gender theory, which suggests that gender is more complex and fluid than the binary categories of male and female and depends on more than visible sexual characteristics.

He called the theory “extremely dangerous, as it cancels out differences in its claim to make everyone equal.”