Vatican releases 'Infinite Dignity' declaration: 'It should be universally banned'

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, affiliated with the Vatican, has made public its new declaration, "Infinite Dignity" (Dignitas Infinita), the product of a 5-year study that "reaffirms the commitment to the inalienable nature of human dignity" according to Christian anthropology, and specifically opposes the "surrogacy" method.

The declaration states that "surrogacy" seriously violates the dignity of both the woman and the child, noting: "A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Starting from the unborn child in the mother's womb, human life cannot be suppressed or turned into a commercial commodity. In this regard, the practice of so-called surrogacy, which gravely violates the dignity of the woman and the child, is deplorable."

The declaration, which conveys that the practice of surrogacy is based on the exploitation of a mother's financial need, uses the phrase: "For this reason, we call on the international community to take measures to prohibit this practice universally."

On the other hand, the spiritual leader of Catholics and Vatican Head of State Pope Francis had met last week, prior to this declaration by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with 32-year-old Olivia Maurel, who was born via surrogacy and is campaigning against the practice.

The Pope had also called for a global ban on the practice of surrogacy in January.

In Italy, the right-wing coalition government led by Giorgia Meloni also submitted a bill to parliament last year to make surrogacy a universal crime. The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, approved the government's proposal in July 2023.

The bill, which also envisions the legal punishment of Italian citizens who have children through surrogacy abroad, must still be debated and voted on in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, to become law.

News Source: AA