The word ethical is only associated with surrogacy to give a positive connotation to an unfair practice. Behind every form of gestational surrogacy “in place of” another person, there is the planned initial rupture between the woman and the child she is bearing. This rupture is even more serious than the other scandals in surrogacy, such as its commercial aspects. Why? The interactions between a woman and the child she is carrying are extremely sensitive, precious and rich. Science is still discovering all the complexities and even the mystery of what occurs during this intra-uterine period of life. It is denying reality to pretend that one can miss this moment, or more accurately, provoke this rupture painlessly by a contract whereby the woman commits to deliver the baby she carries to the sponsors.
That is why there is no fundamental difference between a surrogacy motivated by poverty, as can be seen in some poor countries, and a surrogacy purporting to be ethical or altruistic: the motivations of the surrogate mothers can be nothing but ambivalent. Surrogacy cannot be “altruistic” because my child is not a possession belonging to me. A child does not give his mother “by altruism” to another child who would be deprived of one.
In some dire circumstances, a woman may decide to entrust her child to adoption services: this is a answer to a dramatic situation, without denying the suffering. Surrogacy is just the opposite: it does not bring an answer to a dramatic situation, it creates it! Surrogacy promoters emphasize the suffering of couples who wish to have a child. Yet, deep-felt longings risk to numb our consciences. Societies are built by regulating the strongest desires, which could become tyrannical at the expense of the most vulnerable.
Extract from interview : « Le Pèlerin » August 24, 2016. Alliance VITA’s General Delegate, author of “Le Temps de l’Homme » (“Time for Mankind”) (Ed. Plon).
