Pope Leo XIV has criticised surrogacy as a means of having children, saying it undermines the dignity of human life and distorts the foundational purpose of the family. Speaking on Friday while addressing members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, the pontiff reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to practices that, in his words, deny or exploit the origin and development of human life, explicitly naming surrogacy among them.
The pope said turning pregnancy into a contractual service violates the dignity of both the child and the woman carrying the pregnancy, reducing life to a commodity and exploiting the generative process. He stressed that life should develop within a committed relationship grounded in mutual self-giving and service, warning that surrogacy alters the original relational calling of the family even as the practice becomes more widespread globally due to advances in reproductive technology and changing social attitudes.