Pope issues call: This is exploitation, it should be banned!

Pope Francis addressed ambassadors accredited to the Vatican. As reported by Euronews Turkish, he stated that the life of an unborn child must be protected and not turned into an object of trade.

Francis said, "I consider the so-called surrogate motherhood practice, which is based on the exploitation of the mother's material needs and represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, to be despicable."

Emphasizing that a child is a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract, the Pope called for the practice to be banned universally.

Pope Francis had previously expressed his opposition to this practice, which the Catholic Church refers to as 'womb for rent'.

What do the parties say?

In contrast, the Vatican's doctrine office had clearly stated that same-sex parents who resort to surrogacy can have their children baptized.

Critics argue that commercial surrogacy targets women from poor and vulnerable communities. Supporters, however, state that surrogacy gives women the chance to provide children to childless couples and that commercial contracts protect both the surrogate mothers and the intended parents.