Pope Francis has taken a drastic — and very controversial — stance against surrogacy!
During a speech on Monday, the 87-year-old called for a global ban (!!!) on surrogacy, calling it a “deplorable” practice that “is based on the exploitation” of mothers’ material needs and is “a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child,” according to CNN and Reuters. He also said that a child’s life should not be “suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking” and called on the world “to prohibit this practice universally,” per the Associated Press. Whoa!
This is a pretty shocking stance coming from the normally really progressive pontiff.
If you didn’t know, surrogacy is actually already illegal in some countries, including Italy! The Catholic Church has also long been against surrogacy and in vitro fertilization due to their disposal of embryos, per People. But, judging from the swift backlash after this announcement, it seems more likely folks are against Francis’ latest declaration.
Related: Paris Hilton Struggled With Decision To Use Surrogate For Babies
According to Stephanie Levich, the founder of Family Match Consulting, who chatted with People on Tuesday, the pontiff’s request could actually have “dangerous” consequences if followed through with. Finding the comments “disappointing and shortsighted,” she explained:
“For me, this is a matter of personal autonomy and choice and women having the ability to make decisions for themselves and their families.”
Not to mention single fathers and queer folks, like Perez Hilton!
So, so many families — gay or straight — have been aided by surrogacy, and this is exactly why there’s already so much pushback! Brooke Kimbrough, CEO of Roots Surrogacy, pointed out that for some people surrogacy is “the only option available to start a family.” As for the so-called “commercialization” of the practice, she argued that contracts are only ever meant “to protect the parents, the surrogate and eventually the baby.”
Stephanie went on to stress this would “impact a large, large demographic” and “could be dangerous” — especially since people would likely still “seek to pursue it” even though it “could potentially be illegal and less safe” if ethical surrogacy wasn’t allowed. Just like we’ve seen with other bans related to women’s anatomy. Sigh…
Considering most people think of surrogacy as a “gift,” Kimbrough doesn’t believe the Church understands how their community actually feels about it. Similarly, Stephanie said the “vast majority of surrogacy cases” result in “incredible and beautiful relationships,” reflecting:
“I don’t know how something like that could be considered to be exploitative.”
It’s such a wild stance — especially since, as many have pointed out since Francis’ statement, the Virgin Mary herself was essentially a surrogate mother to Jesus (though that’s obvi a highly debated idea). What are YOUR thoughts on this stance, Perezcious readers? Let us know (below).
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Paris Hilton/The Kardashians/YouTube.]
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