Nearly 100 feminist organisations from all over Latin America (South, Central and Caribbean) associated with ICASM/CIAMS  are launching the FIRST LATIN AMERICAN MANIFESTO AGAINST REPRODUCTIVE EXPLOITATION (surrogacy) in response to attempts to open up surrogacy in Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico.

 

The undersigned individuals, collectives and feminist and abolitionist organisations are organising to oppose any legislation or legislative initiatives in our countries aimed at legalising or regulating the reproductive exploitation of women, based on their gender, in its various forms by the contractual practice commonly known as “Wombs for Rent”[i], and referred to by its proponents as “surrogate motherhood”[ii], “surrogate pregnancy”, “surrogacy”, “surrogate gestation” or “uterus for rent”, as well as “oocyte donation” for commercial purposes.

The practice of “surrogate motherhood”, as an unambiguous manifestation of discrimination, violence and violation of the human and fundamental rights of women, girls and boys, is contrary to the provisions of the international conventions and treaties to which our countries are signatories and whose observance is mandatory by virtue of a constitutional mandate. The infringed rights are set out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime; the International Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Optional Protocol to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

The initiatives for the legalisation of reproductive exploitation, to which we refer, sometimes present “surrogacy” as a medically assisted reproduction technique or, alternatively, as an option to respect the free development of the family, access to which should be guaranteed by the State, disguising a practice as a technique, which it is not, and granting the desires of some people the quality of rights. This cannot, and must not, be legitimised or protected by states for several reasons.

• Firstly, ‘surrogacy’ is not a medical technique because a woman’s pregnancy and childbirth, and her relinquishment of the child to third parties by commission and contract, do not cure infertility or the inability to conceive in the contracting person or persons.
• Secondly, compelling a woman to relinquish fundamental rights by carrying and giving birth to a child for third parties usurps the rights of the child she brings into the world.
• Thirdly, this contractual relationship is characterised by the social and economic inequality typically existing between the contracting parties, where women are viewed as objects of consumption and instruments for satisfying the desires of others by virtue of their sex. In these practices, women’s reproductive capacities are exploited through an exchange of money or other forms of remuneration within a context of economic and social inequality, which influences the decisions of women who are merely used as surrogates or egg donors.
• Finally, in any of its contractual forms (altruistic or commercial), the practice infringes the right to parenthood of women who carry and give birth to their children, irrespective of their genetic relationship to them. This is because any regulation in this area constitutes a contract in which women are required to waive their fundamental right to parenthood and transfer it to third parties.

As abolitionists and feminists, we recognise and denounce this practice as a violation of women’s human and fundamental rights. In this practice, the pregnant woman carries a pregnancy at the request of third parties, to whom she must hand over the child, thereby severing all ties with that child. This practice constitutes a serious violation of the right to human dignity and the physical and psychological integrity of women, girls and boys. It is unacceptable in a society that has declared itself in favour of safeguarding human rights, enshrining this in the fundamental rights contained in our respective constitutions, and recognising the rights of women on the basis of their sex, as set out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

We support the condemnation of this practice by the European Parliament in its resolution P8_TA(2015)0470[iii] , which states that “surrogacy should be prohibited as undermining the human dignity of the woman, since her body and its reproductive functions are used as commodity”. In this resolution, the European Parliament highlights the possible implications for women in vulnerable situations in countries where poverty and inequality rates are high and where a lucrative market for reproductive exploitation takes advantage of and exploits the situation of the most vulnerable women.

The organisations and individuals signing this manifesto endorse the terms and content of the ‘International Convention for the Abolition of Surrogacy’ – http://abolition-ms.org/en/news/draft-international-convention-for-the-abolition-of-surrogacy/.

THEREFORE WE DECLARE THAT :

1. The use of women to satisfy the desires of others reinforces the sexist stereotype of women as ‘others’ and contradicts the ethical imperative that human beings are ends in themselves, not means to an end.

2. The discourse promoting the legalisation of ‘surrogacy’ presents a false form of progressivism. This neoliberal and postmodern perspective on freedom and desire is in reality a postulate that invokes apparent individual freedom for women contracted as ‘surrogates’, only to subsequently restrict their human and fundamental rights on the basis of their sex. This postulate overlooks the structural inequality that determines women’s decisions in contexts of family and social pressure, the feminisation of poverty, and the systematic economic and social exclusion and marginalisation experienced by half the population.

3. Any regulation in this area requires women to renounce their fundamental right to parenthood over their children and transfer this right to third parties, which is unacceptable given the recognition of women’s and children’s rights in international human rights instruments ratified by our countries.

4. Such contracts constitute a form of imposed, controlled, highly medicalised and high-risk motherhood, turning healthy women into functional patients to satisfy the desires of others. This is in accordance with the conditions stipulated by those requesting the procedure, including hyper-medicalised treatments, the number of embryos transferred to the uterus, embryo reduction procedures, induced abortions carried out without regard for the wishes of the ‘surrogate’ women, the type of delivery and psychological therapies designed to foster detachment from the foetus and newborn child. All of these constitute an act of medical, obstetric and psychological violence. Added to this is the control exercised over aspects of the daily lives of women contracted as ‘surrogate mothers’, such as medical appointments, clinical tests, sleep, diet, physical activity, mobility, and sexual activity. Thus, the exercise of human and fundamental rights relating to physical and psychological integrity, autonomy, sexual and reproductive sovereignty, and women’s self-determination is conditioned, restricted or nullified by an asymmetrical contractual relationship in which they are at a disadvantage.

5. ‘Surrogacy’ is a practice directly linked to another highly lucrative practice in this market: ‘egg donation’. We are referring to ‘egg donation’, which effectively involves the sale of gametes and is another form of reproductive exploitation. The effects of this practice on women’s health, linked to the aggressive hormonal treatment used for ovarian stimulation, have not been systematically studied, and the medium- and long-term implications for women’s health are unknown.
6. Another right at risk of violation by this practice is the right to legal termination of pregnancy (ILE), an achievement of the feminist and broader women’s movements in some territories, but not yet realised in others. Feminists therefore find it unacceptable for ILE to be made conditional upon the terms of surrogacy arrangements, typically through the imposition of ‘financial compensation’ payments that are unaffordable for women who no longer wish to continue with the pregnancy.

7. For those born as a result of surrogacy, this practice entails a series of violations of human rights and usurpations: it infringes people’s right to dignity by treating them as the subject of a contract; it infringes their right not to be separated from their biological mothers and to be raised by them; it infringes the two-way right of mother and child to parentage and breastfeeding; it infringes a person’s right to identity and to know their origins; and it infringes the right to family reunification. The serious emotional detachment imposed on both the ‘surrogate’ mothers and the babies must also be considered, as well as the as yet unstudied future consequences. [v]
   Furthermore, it reduces children born through surrogacy to objects of commercial transactions, with ‘premium prices’ assigned according to the packages on offer, which may include eugenic practices such as selecting gametes with specific characteristics or choosing desired traits for the future baby, including sex.

7. As has already occurred in other countries, proposals for ‘altruistic’ regulation can lead to commercial regulation, increasing the risk of reproductive tourism and the trafficking of women, girls, and boys. Such proposals are also incompatible with the prohibition on the sale of minors as defined in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 2)[vi], and are in flagrant contradiction with the current criminal code provisions regarding the sale and trafficking of minors.
   However protective they may claim to be, proposals for non-profit (altruistic) regulation continue to operate within the framework of a contractual relationship. Just as with the commercial model, this requires women to waive their fundamental rights and usurps the fundamental rights of children. Not to mention the long-term effects these practices could have on their lives! Furthermore, this model involves for-profit medical and legal services and procedures, as well as financial compensation for ‘altruistic surrogate mothers’, thereby increasing the risk of covert commercialisation, reproductive exploitation and the sale and trafficking of children. Finally, the altruistic practice does not guarantee that women will not be coerced or pressured into helping relatives or other individuals

WE REQUEST:

FIRST: Do not endorse any legislative initiative relative to “surrogacy”, or any of the euphemisms for reproductive exploitation, or any provision that undermines the human dignity and rights of women because of their sex or promoting any form of exploitation.

SECOND: Do not legislate on individual desires by elevating them to the status of rights, such as the right to produce children with a certain genetic load at the expense of human dignity. Do not disguise the exploitation of women for reproductive purposes as an assisted human reproduction technique or the free development of families. We remind you that pregnancy is a complex biological process involving both body and mind, which may entail risks to women’s health and lives. It must therefore not be treated superficially, irresponsibly or in a dehumanising manner.

THIRD: Legislate in the best interests of children. Children must receive additional protection from States, which are obliged to guarantee the same fundamental rights to all persons equally from the moment they are born into the world. The precautionary principle and non-discrimination must be the guiding principle for all legislation that impacts on children’s lives.

FOURTH: legislate to facilitate adoption procedures by ensuring the best interests of children. This is an ethical and practical means of satisfying the legitimate desire for motherhood/paternity without undermining the dignity and rights of women and children in terms of substantive equality and non-discrimination, while meeting their needs when they are orphans.

FIFTH: Legislate so that maternity can be exercised freely, when, how, with whom and at the times we choose, without subordination or violation of our rights, with access to contraception and to legal, safe and free abortion, without being subject to conditions.

Because we give birth, we decide and claim the right to decide what kind of motherhood we want, as a reaction to the assignment to motherhood as the central and fundamental role of our condition as women, while “surrogate motherhood” acts exactly the opposite.

SIXTH: Public policies to combat the historic feminisation of poverty exacerbated by the pandemic, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic and is being exploited to turn our countries into havens for reproductive and sexual exploitation.

SEVENTH: To endorse and promote the International Convention for the Abolition of Surrogacy for Others with a view to its subsequent signature and ratification. It is available at the following address:  http://abolition-ms.org/en/news/draft-international-convention-for-the-abolition-of-surrogacy/

EIGHTH: Organise an open space for public discussion on legislative initiatives with the organisations that promote and sign this manifestoo organise an open forum for public discussion on legislative initiatives with the organisations promoting and signing this manifesto.

Sign and share the Manifesto
because we are women but not incubators

Access to the form

 __________________________________________________

[i] So called in reference to the instrumentalization of women’s bodies and their reproductive capacity, reduced to a uterus to be used as a means of satisfying the desires of others.

 

[ii] a term which conceals the fact that the practice concerns the pregnancy or physiological maternity of a woman, at the request of a third party, which cannot be substituted or subrogated because it is impossible to substitute or subrogate biological processes

 

[iii] Resolution of the European Parliament https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2015-0470_FR.html

 

[iv] There are systematic reviews published in specialist journals that provide evidence of high-risk pregnancies associated with surrogacy:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29202976 /

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5844654 /

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28324453 /

[v] Söderström-Anttila, V., Wennerholm, U.-B., Loft, A., Pinborg, A., Aittomäki, K. ,

Romundstad, L. B., y Bergh, C. (2015). Surrogacy: outcomes forsurrogate mothers, children and the resulting families-a systematic review. Reproduction humaine.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26454266/
Summary of the results of the report on surrogacy in Sweden. Olika vägar till föräldraskap Different pathways to parenthood. Surrogacy Section in Sweden http://www.sou.gov.se/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SOU- 2016_11_webb.pdf

 

[vi]Article 2 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography states that: “Sale of children means any act or transaction whereby a child is delivered by one person or group of persons to another person or group of persons for remuneration or any other consideration”.

https://www.cndh.org.mx/DocTR/2016/JUR/A70/01/JUR-20170331-II84.pdf