Aontú Senator Sarah O’Reilly has welcomed the recent, unequivocal condemnation of all forms of surrogacy by both the United Nations and the European Parliament, stating that Ireland must now urgently reconsider its approach.
On 13 November, the European Parliament passed a resolution which “condemns the practice of surrogacy, which involves the reproductive exploitation and use of women’s bodies for financial or other gain… and calls on the Commission to take measures to support ending this phenomenon.”
This followed a major UN development last month, when UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem called for a legally binding international instrument to abolish all forms of surrogacy, noting it is “characterised by exploitation and violence against women and children”.
Senator O’Reilly said these statements expose the extent to which Ireland is drifting away from international best practice.
“Ireland is pushing ahead with legislation that normalises, and ultimately paves the way for, commercial surrogacy. When the UN and EU both warn that surrogacy exploits women and commodifies children, we have a moral duty to listen. International experience shows that ‘altruistic-only’ frameworks quickly become dependent on commercial arrangements overseas.”
“We are creating a market that depends on poorer women, often in developing countries, being paid to bear children for those in a much wealthier country. Ten or fifteen thousand euro is a huge sum for a woman in poverty. That is not altruism. That is coercion.”
Senator O’Reilly noted that major European nations such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal have banned surrogacy outright. She warned that Ireland’s demand for surrogacy will inevitably continue to be met abroad, where exploitation risks are highest.
“We cannot claim to care about women at home while turning a blind eye to the exploitation of women overseas. Human rights cannot only apply to some women.”
She also expressed deep concern at the absence of child protection in the legislation.
“There is no meaningful safeguarding. The rights of the child are almost entirely missing from the Bill, and Ireland is already on a Tier 2 child-trafficking watchlist. This should alarm every legislator.”
