UN Special Rapporteur Calls for Abolition of Surrogacy Due to Human Rights Violations

Surrogacy as Violence Against Women and Girls

• ⚠️ Surrogacy, as a practice and industry, must be abolished due to grave and harmful consequences leading to large-scale human rights violations.
• 💔 Surrogate mothers and girls experience various forms of violence, including economic, psychological, and physical, often facing life-threatening situations, slavery, torture, and inhuman treatment.
• ⛓️ Many surrogate mothers come from economically deprived backgrounds, viewing surrogacy as one of the few available options for survival, often compounded by intersecting discrimination.

Invalid Consent and Power Imbalances

• ⚖️ The concept of consent is often weaponized to justify surrogacy, but it is invalid when used to justify exploitation, abuse, and violence.
• 📄 Many women are unaware of the harms, do not fully understand contracts, and face a significant imbalance of power with surrogacy agencies and commissioning parents.
• 💰 Commissioning parents are typically more affluent, and their purchasing power often dictates the process, overshadowing background checks.

Dehumanization and Harm to Children

• 🎭 The commodification of reproductive functions through terms like 'ovens,' 'gestators,' or 'wombs to rent' highlights deep-seated sexism and dehumanization.
• 💔 Children born through surrogacy suffer harm from immediate separation from the birth mother, impacting their development and potentially leading to trauma, loss, and emotional distress.
• 👶 Children may face abandonment, statelessness, or forced abortions due to the commissioning parents' control and changing circumstances.

Recommendations for Abolition

• 🚫 Demand for surrogacy must end by criminalizing the purchase of children and penalizing those who profit from the industry, including clinics and intermediaries.
• 📢 Advertisements encouraging women and girls into surrogacy or egg sales must be prohibited.
• 🆘 Surrogate mothers must be treated as victims, not criminals, and provided with targeted support, health services, legal aid, and reparations.

Addressing the Surrogacy Industry

• 📈 Regulation and legalization have not reduced demand or safeguarded individuals; they often increase demand and commodification.
• 🗣️ There is a need for an intergovernmental platform to share information, discuss concerns, and prevent further harm, mirroring the Nordic/abolitionist model for prostitution.
• 📊 More data collection, victim testimonies, and sensitization of human rights mechanisms and justice systems are crucial to address the issue effectively.