Polish bishops call surrogacy ‘incompatible’ with faith as Warsaw event looms
Polish bishops’ bioethics committee declared surrogacy an evil and incompatible with Christian faith, rejecting commercial arrangements. They warned that surrogacy cannot be tolerated or promoted by state institutions and urged authorities to block companies offering such services. The statement was issued ahead of a promotional event by Ukrainian fertility clinic BioTexCom in Warsaw, which plans to market surrogacy services. Bishops highlighted potential genetic, developmental, and psychological risks, condemning possible eugenic abortions that could result. They compared surrogacy to international human trafficking, stressing that it treats children as commodities.
29 days ago
Poland’s bishops have urged state authorities to stop commercial surrogacy services, describing the practice as incompatible with Christian morality and human dignity. Their statement comes ahead of a Sept. 12–13 Warsaw promotional event organized by Ukrainian fertility clinic BioTexCom, while Poland reportedly has no specific surrogacy restrictions comparable to bans in Slovakia and Italy. 1
The Bioethics Committee of the Polish Bishops’ Conference issued its statement on Aug. 27, with the document signed by Auxiliary Bishop Józef Wróbel of the Archdiocese of Lublin. It called surrogacy “by its nature evil” and “incompatible with Christian faith and morality.” 1
The committee said the desire to have children should not be understood as a right to have children, emphasizing that a child is a human being rather than the property of parents. It argued that conception and birth must not become the subject of a commercial agreement involving a woman’s body and prospective parents. 1
The bishops therefore said surrogacy should not be “tolerated, permitted, accepted, or…promoted” by state institutions. They called for immediate government action to prevent Polish citizens from using surrogacy and to block companies offering such services. 1
The committee referred to the growing number of Polish offers promising the birth of a healthy child through surrogacy. The statement was published as BioTexCom, a Ukrainian fertility clinic, planned a promotional event in Warsaw for Sept. 12–13. 1
BioTexCom presents surrogacy as a program in which a healthy woman carries a child for an infertile couple. The clinic advertises a large donor database, in-vitro fertilization techniques, “best surrogate mothers,” lower prices, and services it says are superior to those of other European medical centers. 1
The Polish bishops’ bioethics experts said surrogacy generally involves artificial insemination, most often through in-vitro fertilization, which they associated with genetic, developmental, and psychological consequences.
They further alleged that embryos or unborn children with genetic or developmental disorders may be subject to what they described as eugenic abortion. The committee called abortion an extremely grave evil and said it is a crime under Polish law. 1
The experts also argued that arranging surrogacy outside Poland would not make the practice lawful. They compared cross-border arrangements to international human trafficking, saying neither the desire for children nor the consent of the parties could justify them. 1
The committee said surrogacy reduces children to commodities rather than recognizing their inherent human dignity. The reports note that Poland lacks the specific surrogacy restrictions found in Slovakia and Italy, creating the regulatory context in which foreign providers can promote their services to Polish clients. 1*
Surrogacy violates Catholic moral doctrine and state policy
The Catholic Church clearly teaches that surrogacy is morally illicit in every form. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith states:
“Surrogate motherhood represents an objective failure to meet the obligations of maternal love, of conjugal fidelity and of responsible motherhood.”
The reasons include:
The 2024 declaration Dignitas Infinita emphasizes that the desire for a child cannot become a supposed “right to a child.” The child possesses inherent dignity and must never be treated as a product or contractual object.
It also teaches that surrogacy violates the woman’s dignity by making her a means to satisfy another person’s desire or financial interest. Pope Francis therefore called for universal efforts to prohibit the practice, especially because commercialization can exploit women and turn children into objects of trafficking.
Catholic teaching supports public policies that protect marriage, children, women, and the common good. The USCCB’s health-care directives therefore state:
“Because of the dignity of the child and of marriage, and because of the uniqueness of the mother-child relationship, participation in contracts or arrangements for surrogate motherhood is not permitted.”
This provides a strong basis for opposing state policies that authorize or facilitate surrogacy contracts, particularly commercial surrogacy. Such policies risk:
The Church’s social doctrine likewise rejects reproductive practices that use another woman’s uterus or third-party gametes and that undermine the child’s right to be born from, and legally connected with, his or her own father and mother.
The available sources directly establish the Church’s moral opposition to surrogacy. They do not establish the precise law of any particular state. Therefore, the statement that “surrogacy violates state policy” requires examination of the relevant jurisdiction’s statutes, regulations, and court decisions.
Catholic reasoning would nevertheless support state policies that prohibit commercial surrogacy and prevent the sale or contractual transfer of children. At the same time, laws should protect children already born through surrogacy and ensure their welfare, without implying moral approval of the practice itself.
In summary: surrogacy violates Catholic moral doctrine because it fragments parenthood, instrumentalizes women, and treats the child as an object rather than a gift. Whether it violates state policy depends on the specific state’s law, but Catholic principles support legal measures that prohibit exploitation and the commodification of human life.