At What Price? Towards the Abolition of Surrogacy

Surrogacy is a practice whereby a woman becomes pregnant with the intent of giving the child to someone else upon birth. This practice firstly violates the inalienable dignity of the child: a child is reduced to an item for sale or the object of a contract. Secondly, it exploits women by commodifying their bodies and violating their human rights. Differing domestic legal frameworks have led to a dramatic increase in transnational surrogacy. A national response is not enough. Prohibitions on the national level simply exports the issue of surrogacy to different countries. New surrogacy 'hotspots' emerge and, consequently, this facilitates the transnational exploitation of women and children.

There is an urgent need for an international response to human rights violations generated by the commodification of women and children through the practice of surrogacy. This event aims at bringing a diverse panel of women together to explore the root causes of surrogacy, the harms it generates and the ways in which the international community might begin to work together to end this exploitative practice. 

Discussion Questions:

How does surrogacy impact the rights of the child and women’s rights?

Why is there a need to unequivocally condemn all forms of surrogacy?

Why an urgent international response to all forms of surrogacy is needed and what could it look like?

Panel Discussion Featuring:

1. Mrs. Eugenia Roccella, Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Italy
2. Dr. Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Holy See's Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life
3. Ms. Olivia Maurel, born through surrogacy, working for the abolition of surrogacy
4. Ms. Eva Maria Bachinger, journalist, author. She co-founded the ‘Stop Surrogacy’ initiative in Vienna in 2015
5. Ms. Bettina Roska, UN Legal Officer for ADF International

This event is co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Italy and the Sovereign Order of Malta.