On November 14, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a significant resolution addressing the trafficking of women and girls. Among its most impactful sections, Article 16 highlights exploitative commercial surrogacy as a form of trafficking and calls on governments to address its root causes and harmful consequences.
This recognition is a crucial step in shedding light on how surrogacy commodifies women and children, treating women as reproductive tools and children as products for sale.
Surrogacy as a Form of Exploitation
Surrogacy, whether labelled commercial or altruistic, inherently exploits women by reducing them to commodities whose reproductive capacities can be rented. It is often framed as an altruistic act or an economic opportunity, but the reality is far more complex. In most cases, surrogacy arrangements disproportionately target economically vulnerable women, who may feel pressured into participating due to financial need.
For children born through surrogacy, the practice treats them as objects in a transactional arrangement. Instead of being valued as individuals with intrinsic worth, they are subjected to a market system that views them as commodities to be designed, purchased, and delivered.
The resolution’s inclusion of “exploitative commercial surrogacy” is vital because it connects surrogacy to broader trafficking issues, such as forced labor, commodification, and the persistent demand for exploitative practices. This link underscores the need to address surrogacy as part of a comprehensive strategy to combat human trafficking.
The Broader Context: Tackling Root Causes
Article 16 of the UN resolution emphasizes that trafficking in all its forms, including surrogacy, is driven by systemic factors such as poverty, gender inequality, and negative social norms. These conditions create environments where women are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
By focusing on exploitative surrogacy, the resolution highlights how trafficking isn’t limited to traditional forms like forced labor or prostitution—it also exists in practices normalized by modern society. The persistent demand for surrogacy, driven by affluent individuals and facilitated by weak or absent legislation, perpetuates this exploitation.
The Legal and Ethical Imperative
The resolution urges governments to enact and strengthen legislation to prevent and eliminate trafficking, including in the context of surrogacy. This is a critical step toward protecting women and children from becoming commodities in a system that prioritizes market demand over human dignity.
Countries that allow or facilitate surrogacy, whether through legal loopholes or permissive frameworks, contribute to a global industry that thrives on inequality. Governments must recognize that no amount of regulation can fully eliminate the exploitative nature of surrogacy. The abolition of on all forms of surrogacy is the only way to ensure women and children are not treated as tools or products.
The One of Us Federation’s Perspective
The One of Us Federation applauds the United Nations for acknowledging the exploitative nature of surrogacy within its broader resolution on trafficking. As advocates for the inherent dignity of every human being, we firmly believe that surrogacy violates fundamental human rights.
The commodification of women and children inherent in surrogacy cannot be separated from broader trafficking concerns. This practice not only exploits vulnerable women but also undermines societal values by normalizing the treatment of human beings as objects.
We need all the citizens to stand strong against the exploitation of surrogacy. Join now One of Us here and help us to ask the European Union to act against surrogacy by banning this exploitative practice from the European Union.
Join the movement to end surrogacy and stand for the dignity of all human beings. Visit https://oneofus.eu/appeal/ to learn more and take action.
