Spanish Episcopal Conference spokesman warns surrogacy is 'exploitation': “Adopt instead,” he tells parents

Still not legally-recognised in Spain, surrogacy is the only way for all-male couples to have a child of their own, and is an alternative to egg donation for infertile women in a mixed couple or single – or the only way for a woman who has undergone a hysterectomy to have a baby.

Spokesman for the Episcopal Conference, José Gil Tamayo says he 'fully understands the pain' suffered by couples who cannot have children, but says surrogacy 'exploits women' and also the baby, who becomes 'a consumer object'.

Gil Tamayo also points out that many women in third-world countries who become surrogate mothers do so because of poverty and the urgent need for money to feed themselves, making them 'true objects of exploitation', and that they often do so reluctantly and out of necessity rather than completely free choice.

Third-world surrogacy has led to problems for the parents, as was seen in the case of an all-male couple – a Spaniard and an Australian – who had to fight through the courts after the Thai surrogate mother refused to hand over the baby she had had for them.

Although Gil Tamayo admits the 'commercial aspect' of surrogacy is 'generally altruistic', he says 'only objects should have a price, not people', and 'having a child is not a right or even a wish; it's a gift'.

Yet fertility treatment per se costs money, even sperm or egg donation - which could be argued as a child 'carrying a price tag' in the same way as surrogacy, despite this practice being widely accepted, even among the Church community.

“Whether surrogate pregnancies are paid for or carried out for free, they still contravene the natural order of human procreation,” says Gil Tamayo – even though the Christian Bible contains several examples of women allowing their husbands to impregnate a maid so the couple themselves could have a child.

“Resorting to 'renting a womb' [as it is known in the USA] does not cure infertility, but is an attempt to provide an alternative method which the Church considers illicit,” Gil Tamayo stresses.

“The Church understands and shares the pain of couples who cannot have children, but we would encourage them to live out their natural desire for procreation through adoption, or fostering young people with problems – and for this to happen, there needs to be laws in place, and flexible agreements between different countries which offer guarantees to families who cannot have biological offspring, and processes which can be completed swiftly,” the Episcopal Conference spokesman argues.