The Church takes a stand against the practice of surrogate motherhood, "through which the child, immensely worthy, becomes a mere object".
And it does so through the former Holy Office, through a document entitled “Dignitas Infinita” , also quoting Pope Francis : «Every human life, starting from that of the unborn child in the mother's womb, cannot be suppressed, nor become the object of mercantile. In this regard, I consider the practice of so-called surrogacy to be deplorable, as it seriously damages the dignity of the woman and her child . It is based on the exploitation of a situation of material need of the mother. A child is always a gift and never the object of a contract. I therefore hope for a commitment from the international community to prohibit this practice at a universal level."
According to the Vatican, the practice of surrogate motherhood "violates, first and foremost, the dignity of the child" , states the document of the Doctrine of Faith.
«Every child, in fact, from the moment of conception, birth and then growing as a boy or girl, becoming an adult, possesses an intangible dignity that is clearly expressed, albeit in a singular and differentiated way, in every phase of his life. The child therefore has the right, by virtue of his inalienable dignity, to have a fully human and not artificially induced origin, and to receive the gift of a life that manifests, at the same time, the dignity of the giver and the recipient. . Furthermore, the recognition of the dignity of the human person also involves that of the dignity of the conjugal union and of human procreation in all their dimensions. In this direction, the legitimate desire to have a child cannot be transformed into a "right to a child" which does not respect the dignity of the child himself as recipient of the free gift of life."
«The practice of surrogacy violates, at the same time - continues the text - the dignity of the woman herself who is forced to do so or freely decides to submit to it . With this practice, the woman detaches herself from the child growing within her and becomes a simple means subservient to the gain or arbitrary desire of others. This contrasts in any way with the fundamental dignity of every human being and his right to always be recognized for himself and never as an instrument for someone else."
(Unioneonline/lf)
