(The Lion) — Physical, psychological and emotional violence against women and girls often accompanies surrogacy, according to a recent United Nations study.
Surrogacy is when “a woman becomes pregnant and carries a child for another individual or couple,” according to the UN report, cited by LifeSiteNews.
“The practice of surrogacy is characterized by exploitation and violence against women and children, including girls,” the report concludes. “It reinforces patriarchal norms by commodifying and objectifying women’s bodies and exposing surrogate mothers and children to serious human rights violations.”
Study lead Reem Alsalem, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, advocates for the international abolition of surrogacy “in all its forms.”
“Pending its abolition, States must take action to prevent further harm and strengthen the protection of the rights of women and children involved in surrogacy arrangements,” Alsalem writes in the report.
She also recommended states implements protections to ensure “the best interest of the child” and means of reparations for “women and children harmed.” In addition, judges and lawyers should undergo trainings on “human rights-based approach to surrogacy disputes,” and federal law enforcement should “strengthen international cooperation to identify, prevent” illegal surrogacy arrangements, especially when the goal is sex trafficking, the report says.
The study gathered data from roughly 120 submissions “from different stakeholders,” and consulted with 78 experts, including surrogacy agencies, commissioning parents, “medical experts” and women who practiced surrogacy. Researchers also consulted “reputable secondary sources, which were few, given their weaknesses,” Alsalem wrote.
The global surrogacy market was worth about $15 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach near $100 billion by 2033, according to the report. However, surrogate mothers earn “only a small fraction of the overall compensation,” with women reporting they received between 10% and 27.5% of the revenue generated by their surrogacy.
Most surrogate mothers are from “lower-income backgrounds” with “less social status” than the commissioning parents, the report also found.
“Many lack access to effective legal remedies or advocacy mechanisms,” the report says. “Reportedly, migrant women are either specifically targeted for surrogacy or transferred to other countries for the purpose of impregnation and childbirth, often to circumvent legal frameworks.”
Furthermore, surrogate mothers say they feel “powerless” and are treated “like a cow” by agencies or doctors because of “the direct and exploitative use of a woman’s bodily and reproductive functions for the benefit of others,” according to the report.
After the baby is born, surrogates can be prohibited from nursing and often “denied time with the newborn,” even to the extent of forbidding the mother to hold the child. Because of this mother-child separation, many surrogate mothers endure higher levels of depression, with one study finding 35% of women have difficulty “in relinquishing their newborns” and 33% face “post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety,” the report says.
Children born through surrogacy arrangements are also at greater risk of “developing mental disorders” because of the disruption of the mother-child bond. These children also have a lower mean gestational age at delivery and higher rates of preterm birth, according to the study.
In addition to the emotional and psychological tole, surrogate mothers are often pressured to abort children that don’t meet expectations, such as those with disabilities or when the baby is not the preferred gender.
“Surrogate mothers have reportedly been pressured to terminate healthy pregnancies, including beyond the 12 weeks, through coercive tactics such as financial incentives, threats of legal action or the withdrawal of support to both the mother and the baby,” the report states.
These women also face increased risk of human trafficking for “forced reproductive labour,” the study says. One case in Georgia reported 100 women who were “kept in confinement and forced to give up their eggs after being artificially stimulated to ovulate.”
The surrogacy industry fails to appropriately perform background checks on commissioning parents and instead only check for “financial capacity,” according to the report.
“This poses particular risks for children born in this way, including the risk of sexual exploitation of girls, as there have been reports of sex offenders commissioning children for surrogacy; the risk of becoming victims of human trafficking; and the risk of abandonment, especially when a child is born with disabilities,” the report states.
Because of the dangers for mother and child, the Vatican, Alliance Defended Freedom (ADF), and other pro-life organizations have joined a “campaign” to “demand a global ban on surrogacy,” according to LifeSiteNews.
“Surrogacy rests on a system of violence that dehumanizes women and children alike,” said Giorgio Mazzoli, director of UN Advocacy at ADF International. “States need to develop a coordinated international response to end the grave human rights violations inherent in this practice. We commend the Special Rapporteur for exposing the harms of this exploitative industry and urge governments around the world to united in ending surrogacy in all its forms at all levels, including through the adoption of a UN treaty banning the practice globally.”
