European Parliament condemns surrogacy, calls for ‘safe abortions’

December 18, 2015

The European Parliament has passed a motion condemning the practice of surrogacy.

The Parliament, according to the text of the motion on a report on human rights,

condemns the practice of surrogacy, which undermines the human dignity of the woman since her body and its reproductive functions are used as a commodity; considers that the practice of gestational surrogacy which involves reproductive exploitation and use of the human body for financial or other gain, in particular in the case of vulnerable women in developing countries, shall be prohibited and treated as a matter of urgency in human rights instruments. 

The motion, passed on December 17, also called for “easy access to contraception and safe abortions,” condemned human trafficking, and called for the abolition of human trafficking and the death penalty.

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) welcomed the provisions dealing with surrogacy, human trafficking, and the death penalty. While expressing concerns about “the principle of subsidiarity and some fundamental values regarding the protection of marriage and of the human life,” the COMECE Secretariat stated that it “wishes to salute this overall positive outcome.”

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Gestational surrogacy condemned outright by the European Parliament today (COMECE)
• MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2014 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (European Parliament)