Pope Francis calls for a universal ban on surrogacy. He says it exploits mother and child

Pope Francis called Monday for a universal ban on what he called the "despicable" practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the "commercialisation" of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity.

In a foreign policy address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Francis lamented that 2024 had dawned at a time in which peace is "increasingly threatened, weakened and in some part lost." Citing Russia's war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, the issue of migration, climate crises, and the "immoral" production of nuclear and conventional weapons, Francis delivered a list of the ills afflicting humanity and the increasing violation of international humanitarian law that allows them.

But Francis also listed smaller-scale issues that he said were threats to peace and human dignity, including surrogacy. He said the life of the unborn child must be protected and not "suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking."