On December 17, 2015, the European Parliament adopted a draft resolution in the context of the vote for the annual report on human rights and democracy in the world and on the politics of the European Union including a condemnation of the practice of gestational surrogacy.
Among the measures presented by the rapporteur, the Rumanian European deputy, Chistian Dan Preda (PPE), the point 114 “condemns the practice of gestational surrogacy which goes against the human dignity of the woman, whose body and reproductive functions are utilized as merchandise; judges that this practice, by which reproductive functions and women’s bodies, especially those of vulnerable women in developing countries, are exploited for financial purposes or for other gains, must be forbidden and that priority must be given to examining this issue as a part of the instruments for the defense of human rights”.
This condemnation of all forms of recourse to ‘surrogate mothers’ adopted by a large majority comes while several international bodies are also treating this issue, such as the Council of Europe and the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
This position follows the direction requested by European citizens belonging to No Maternity Traffic, of which Alliance VITA is a member, calling for the universal prohibition of gestational surrogacy.
