Pope Francis' call for a global ban on surrogacy

Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, called for a worldwide ban on surrogacy in a speech.

"Surrogacy" or "surrogate motherhood" is a method in which a woman, as a surrogate mother, carries the child in her womb for a couple who are unable to have children. The surrogate mother has the sole role of raising the baby, and after the birth, all custody rights of the child are transferred to the original parents.

Surrogate mothers usually receive a fee from the parents for the act of raising a couple's child. However, today, many women around the world, especially in Iran, view this as a business and, for various reasons, including poverty, rent out their wombs in order to receive a fee.

In some cases, many single girls also turn to this issue and view it as a job, which will also cause many concerns.

Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, also reacted to surrogacy. During a meeting at the Vatican attended by foreign ambassadors, he said, following a speech on surrogacy, noting that the practice was a threat to peace and human dignity: "Surrogacy is a serious violation of the dignity of women and children, and I call on the international community to ban this practice universally."

Pope Francis considers a child a divine gift that should not be traded.