Adviser José Luis Bazán at the European Parliament, Brussels, on 19 November 2025. (Photo: ECR)
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) took part in the event “Surrogacy: An Ethical and Political Challenge for Europe”, held at the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, 19 November 2025. COMECE has called on EU institutions to “take a leading role internationally in implementing a total and universal ban on surrogacy.”
COMECE was represented by José Luis Bazán, Adviser for Migration & Asylum and for International Religious Freedom. Speaking on the panel “The Invisible Victims – Women and Children: The True Exploited in the Reproductive Market”, he stressed that “surrogacy is reproductive exploitation and planned orphanhood that violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”.
“The so-called ‘non-commercial’ surrogacy is merely a theoretical notion which, in practice, does not exist, as there are indirect or hidden benefits and power imbalances that affect the vulnerable mother and limit her freedom. Consent to become a surrogate mother should therefore be considered null and void”, he explained.
Finally, he called on EU institutions to “take a leading role at the international level in implementing a total and universal ban on surrogacy”.
Hosted by MEPs Paolo Inselvini, Bert-Jan Ruissen and Stephen Bartulica, the event also included contributions from Eugenia Roccella, Italy’s Minister for Equal Opportunities, Family and Natality, and Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.
The event provided an opportunity to discuss the ethical, legal and political dimensions of surrogacy in Europe and worldwide, featuring first-hand testimonies from women and children directly affected by surrogacy practices. It offered a distinctive perspective on the powerful reproductive market that drives this global phenomenon.