The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Reem Alsalem, was published on August 22 of this year. It describes surrogacy as a practice characterized by exploitation and violence against women and children.
The document stresses that this practice reinforces patriarchal norms, reduces women to their reproductive roles and exposes children to serious violations of their human rights.
4 recommendations to the States
The Special Rapporteur recommends the following to States, as noted by the so-called Casablanca group, which brings together experts and NGOs from more than 80 countries.
1. The eradication of all forms of surrogacy.
2. The adoption of a binding international treaty banning surrogacy;
3. The prohibition of advertising and surrogacy agencies;
4. Strengthening international cooperation to combat trafficking in women and children related to surrogate motherhood.
Universal abolition
The Casablanca group, in a communiqué dated August 25 in Paris, welcomed the report. It is a confirmation of its work for the universal abolition of surrogacy. It urged States to assume their responsibility by inviting them to act without delay to give concrete expression to these recommendations in their public policies.
The Special Rapporteur's report focuses on human rights violations. Specifically, those occurring in the surrogacy market, she said. Bernard Garciaexecutive director of the Casablanca Declaration.
"Where are you, Mom?" by Olivia Maurel.
"This is an unprecedented recognition at the highest international level: surrogacy is not an act of love, but a form of violence and exploitation. This landmark report shows the way to its global ban," said Olivia Maurel.
French-American activist Olivia Maurel, a surrogate mother, is a spokesperson for the Casablanca Declaration and the author of the book "Where are you, Mom? This book will be published in Spanish in September 2025.
In an interview with Omnes, Olivia Maurelwho considers herself an atheist and is the mother of three children, said that "surrogacy is a new form of human trafficking".
Maurel also said: "I find it terrible that in a country like France, where surrogacy is forbidden, the media are so intent on promoting 'good stories'. And they never put in front of people who have undergone it or who campaign for its abolition".
Dignity of women and children
Recently, sources from the technology sector have referred to the study of a possible prototype in China of a gestating robots of babies. The embryo would spend nine months in a machine with artificial amniotic fluid. AI expert Rafael González Aguayo commented on LinkedIn, and to Omnes. "If it is not a fake, it is a mere instrumentalization of the woman, who becomes secondary in the face of motherhood."
Bernad Garcia recalled in April of this year the words of Pope Francis in 2024: "I consider the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood to be deplorable. It gravely offends the dignity of the woman and the child, and is based on the exploitation of the mother's situation of material need. A child is always a gift and never the object of a contract. I therefore call on the international community to commit itself to a universal ban on this practice".
A few days before this speech, the Casablanca executive explained, the Pope had received a letter from Olivia Maurel in which she shared her story. And he invited the Pontiff to support the cause of the universal abolition of surrogacy, promoted by the Casablanca Declaration.
