Pope Francis called surrogacy ‘deplorable’ – but the reasons why women and parents choose surrogacy are complex and defy simple labels

Pope Francis baptizes 16 infants in the Sistine Chapel on Jan. 7, 2024, in Vatican City. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images by Danielle Tumminio Hansen, Emory University Pope Francis made headlines on Jan. 8, 2024, when he called for a global surrogacy ban, stating, “I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs.” The use of surrogacy, in which a woman carries and delivers a child for someone else, has grown exponentially in recent years and is expected to continue to do so. While headlines often surface when celebrities like Paris Hilton grow their family using the technology, it also gets attention on the rare occasion a surrogate refuses to relinquish the child they carried, or when surrogates experience exploitation. Such human rights violations appear to be the reason that Francis condemned the practice. But in so doing, I argue, the pope is failing to recognize how varied and nuanced the experiences of intended parents, surrogates and children are. I have researched surrogacy for over a decade and have learned many things: Some women...