Church in Argentina praises ‘exemplary decision’ against surrogacy

With Julieta Villar

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6 November 2024 / 14:15

The “No to Trafficking” Team of the Argentine bishops’ National Commission for Justice and Peace issued a statement welcoming the country’s Supreme Court’s decision in a case related to surrogacy.

The court rejected the request of a “married” male couple who had entered into a child contract with a woman and wanted to be registered as parents rather than biological mothers; The bishops’ commission called it “an unprecedented exemplary decision” in a statement. ”

expression “The mother is the person who gives birth, regardless of the subjective representations and special wishes of third parties.”

Additionally, “taking into account all relevant rights” regarding surrogacy and with the aim of “limiting any potential regulation so as not to affect the most vulnerable, namely poor women and children processed as objects of desire,” the Supreme Court found the country’s Legislative Assembly to consider the “lack of regulation” on the issue. called to fix it.

For the first time, Argentina’s Supreme Court ruled on a case involving surrogacy.

The decision dismissed a lawsuit brought by a gay “married couple” who turned to a woman to bear a child and then asked judges for a new birth certificate recognizing the woman as the parent of the newborn child. .

Thus, the child was registered as the son of the woman who gave birth and one of the contracting couples with prior consent.

The decision clearly shows that there is no “legal gap” on this issue in Argentina, and that the practice of surrogacy or so-called “uterus rental” is an unlawful practice.

For the No Trafficking Team, which is committed to “raising awareness of this new form of human trafficking for the purpose of reproductive exploitation and child trafficking and making visible its nature and inhumane impacts,” it is timely and necessary to issue a statement “to inform our community about this harmful and inhumane form of human trafficking.” It will be a light and educational guide.”

The issue was also discussed by Nicolás Lafferriere, who holds a doctorate in legal sciences, in the program “Por la Vida” (“For Life”) on Radio María, noting that the persons concerned did not request prior legal authorization for this transaction. Surrogacy and according to this court decision, “people cannot make contracts that change the rules of filiation; that is, how the bonds between mother, father and child are established.”

On the other hand, Laferriere pointed out that although he accepted the “will to give birth”, there is a limit to this and that this limit is surrogacy or uterus rental determined by law.

“This decision puts an end to a series of court decisions across the country that generally supported surrogacy but remained outside the text of the law. “So, in a way, the court is aware of this and puts a limit here, sets a limit,” he said.

“The judge cannot put his own criteria above the law’s criteria when the law is clear, and he somehow puts a limit on all the decisions that have legitimized surrogacy in our country over the last few years.” said the lawyer.

Catholic Church and surrogacy

Document Dignitas InfinitaThe report, published by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in April with the approval of Pope Francis, lists 13 serious violations of human dignity.

Among them, at number 48, it is stated that “the Church also opposes the practice of surrogacy, in which the extremely precious child becomes a mere object.”

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“First and foremost, the practice of surrogacy violates the dignity of the child” and “violates the dignity of the woman, whether by force or whether she freely chooses to subject herself to it,” the document states.

“In this practice, the woman becomes detached from the child growing inside her and becomes a simple tool serving the arbitrary gain or desire of others,” the Dicastery explains.

this story first published By ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. Translated and adapted by CNA.

Julieta Villar has a degree in social communication from the National University of La Matanza (Argentina). He began his professional career as an editor at the Argentinian Catholic Information Agency (AICA). He collaborated in graphic press and communication roles in non-governmental organizations. He has been a member of the ACI Prensa team since October 2022 as a correspondent for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay.