Reem Alsalem of the UN publishes report on surrogacy harms

ArabellaScott · 2025-08-25T15:48:55+00:00

[[https://docs.un.org/A/80/158 https://docs.un.org/A/80/158]] This will be presented to the UN in October. 'In the report, the Special Rapporteur examines the different manifestations of violence against women and girls in the context of surrogacy, focusing on the drivers of the practice and on the human rights implications for the females involved. 2. In response to the call for input to the report, the Special Rapporteur received some 120 submissions from different stakeholders. She convened online consultations with 78 experts: commissioning parents, surrogacy agencies, medical experts and women with lived experiences of surrogacy. '

Cailleach1 · 27/08/2025 10:51

Yes, of course this exploitation/human farming can be commissioned by just about anyone with the money (and the inclination) to do so. As with so much exploitation and human trafficking of the past. No one seems to be asking if it is contrary to the human rights of those who are exploited and trafficked/purchased.

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ArabellaScott · 27/08/2025 09:03

Cailleach1 · 25/08/2025 21:46

Thank you for posting this. It is all so depressing, though, isn’t it? I was on a train yesterday and nearby there was a man with a baby. The baby was really young, not holding its head up yet. Didn’t seem to be able to focus well yet either. The baby was very grizzly, and the man didn’t seem to be able to make it comfortable. He had it out of the pram and in his arms, but with the head not comfortably supported, and the baby’s head kept falling sideways as it had little support. Baby was miserable. He then rocked the baby quite forcefully, which escalated the grizzling. Then he started kissing the baby on the mouth. It was all so disquieting. He proceeded to play loud children’s music beside the baby, but it was so noisy and the baby was so young, that it made the baby cry again. He had all designer gear on, and you just wondered if he also bought the baby. I don’t know why that came into my mind, but the way he was interacting with/‘minding’ the baby was disturbing. The baby just needed gentle holding, nursing, and centering at that very young age. Yet it seemed the tiny human being was the man’s entertainment. I felt very sad for the tiny baby.

Of course, the tiny baby may have had a mother to watch out for them and to which they returned. I hope so. However, I suppose it can enter your mind now, as men are exploiting/farming women’s bodies to harvest gametes and have a baby in order to hand it completely over to the buyer/client. The finished product (the baby) is turned over to the buyer for whatever they wish to do with it really. No supervision, or welfare checks in the same way as when a baby is adopted. One way to avoid all that for the purchaser I suppose, whilst also designed to deprive the baby of a mother, and a mother’s protection.

Surrogacy has created a worldwide industry that buys and sells babies to anyone who has the money.

It's unconscionable. I can't think of anything more morally reprehensible. Yet there is a media wing heavily pushing surrogacy as 'progressive' and glamorous.Celebrities and influencers displaying the product on Insta. The media happily lapping up the content.

Absolutely morally abhorrent.

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Original poster

ArabellaScott · 27/08/2025 08:17

AnyoneInCheltenham · 26/08/2025 14:10

Thank goodness for Reem. She is a true advocate for women and children.

Yes. Maybe worth writing to her, but I wonder to whom in the UN one would write to point out how important and appreciated her work is?

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Abra1t · 26/08/2025 17:43

Very disturbing reading. Thanks, @ArabellaScott.

Strawberrysummer25 · 26/08/2025 17:39

Hope the Scottish Government read about the egg donation part, their adverts for egg donors are disgusting and frankly should be banned, no mention of side effects at all

Toseland · 26/08/2025 17:14

Thanks for those excerpts. I've been commenting on many posts on Facebook about surrogacy recently. I've been shocked that there seems to be no care at all for the baby or the mother, but plenty of fawning over how wonderful the new parents are. It truly sickens me.

AnyoneInCheltenham · 26/08/2025 14:10

Thank goodness for Reem. She is a true advocate for women and children.

nocoolnamesleft · 25/08/2025 21:49

Good to see this being talked about. Abusing women to traffic babies.

Cailleach1 · 25/08/2025 21:46

Thank you for posting this. It is all so depressing, though, isn’t it? I was on a train yesterday and nearby there was a man with a baby. The baby was really young, not holding its head up yet. Didn’t seem to be able to focus well yet either. The baby was very grizzly, and the man didn’t seem to be able to make it comfortable. He had it out of the pram and in his arms, but with the head not comfortably supported, and the baby’s head kept falling sideways as it had little support. Baby was miserable. He then rocked the baby quite forcefully, which escalated the grizzling. Then he started kissing the baby on the mouth. It was all so disquieting. He proceeded to play loud children’s music beside the baby, but it was so noisy and the baby was so young, that it made the baby cry again. He had all designer gear on, and you just wondered if he also bought the baby. I don’t know why that came into my mind, but the way he was interacting with/‘minding’ the baby was disturbing. The baby just needed gentle holding, nursing, and centering at that very young age. Yet it seemed the tiny human being was the man’s entertainment. I felt very sad for the tiny baby.

Of course, the tiny baby may have had a mother to watch out for them and to which they returned. I hope so. However, I suppose it can enter your mind now, as men are exploiting/farming women’s bodies to harvest gametes and have a baby in order to hand it completely over to the buyer/client. The finished product (the baby) is turned over to the buyer for whatever they wish to do with it really. No supervision, or welfare checks in the same way as when a baby is adopted. One way to avoid all that for the purchaser I suppose, whilst also designed to deprive the baby of a mother, and a mother’s protection.

BeLemonNow · 25/08/2025 21:30

Thanks Arabella. I think I may be falling in love with Reem.

It seems socially acceptable for UK couples to travel to i.e. the USA for paid surrogacy. I think they even advertise here.

I'm uncomfortable with it. It's not illegal to bring a surrogate child over, but perhaps it should be.

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 21:01

Yes. Money to be made.

In 2023, the global surrogacy market was valued at $14.95 billion and is projected to reach $99.75 billion by 2033

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deadpan · 25/08/2025 20:56

The more I see of Reem the more I like her.

Mum4MrA · 25/08/2025 19:50

Thanks @ArabellaScott that report doesn’t pull any punches. Hopefully it will be a wake up call but I suspect the huge financial gains involved will ensure it continues.

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 19:08

TempestTost · 25/08/2025 17:58

Wow!

I would love to see more focus on harms to children.

I've only shared excerpts!

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CassOle · 25/08/2025 18:09

Thanks for sharing that. I have ended up being completely against surrogacy as the more I learnt about it, the more the serious issues became clear.

TempestTost · 25/08/2025 17:58

Wow!

I would love to see more focus on harms to children.

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 17:08

It's a thorough, thoughtful, and lucidly written report. It's also terrifying in the picture it paints of a global trade in women and children.

I recommend reading the whole thing, and I hope the UN listen.

(Apologies for the formatting glitches, the random numbers are the references inserted in the doc).

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 17:06

Conclusion:

'69. The practice of surrogacy is characterized by exploitation and violence
against women and children, including girls. It reinforces patriarchal norms by
commodifying and objectifying women’s bodies and exposing surrogate mothers
and children to serious human rights violations.
70. Considering the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that Member
States and other relevant stakeholders:
(a) At the international level, take steps towards eradicating surrogacy in
all its forms. Pending its abolition, States must take action to prevent further
harm and strengthen the protection of the rights of women and children involved
in surrogacy arrangements;
(b) Work towards adopting an international legally binding instrument
prohibiting all forms of surrogacy'

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 17:04

'Girls can also be victims of sex-selective abortion, as surrogacy contracts
sometimes include clauses for “selective reduction” based on the sex of the child.
A similar situation exists for children with disabilities. There are even surrogacy
agencies that promise that “if the imperfection manifests later in the pregnancy,
interruption of the pregnancy is guaranteed by abortion'

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 17:03

'the primary requirement placed on intending parents is the financial capacity to pay a substantial sum for the surrogacy procedure.
This poses particular risks for children born in this way, including the risk of sexual exploitation of girls, as there have been reports of sex offenders commissioning children for surrogacy; the risk of becoming victims of human trafficking; and the risk of abandonment, especially when a child is born with disabilitie'

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 17:02

'In some cases, the State itself is the direct perpetrator of physical violence. In Cambodia, reports have emerged of women being detained and forced to give birth in handcuffs'

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 17:01

'Commercial surrogacy, which accounts for the overwhelming majority of
surrogacy cases globally, constitutes the sale of children, which is a crime'

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 17:00

'In Georgia, for example, at least 100 female victims were reportedly kept in confinement and forced to give up their eggs after being artificially stimulated to ovulate'

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 17:00

'Egregious abuses have been documented against egg donors, with hundreds
reportedly exploited for months through the harvesting of their eggs. 123 Girls are also reportedly exploited for their eggs and their wombs. 124 Some reports, including from China, describe scenarios of egg retrieval and embryo transfers being conducted in unregulated, underground laboratories operated by biotechnology companies, where the women undergoing the procedures were identified by codes and categorized as “high-end” or “low-end” products, on the basis of their appearance and health status, with each egg priced accordingly'

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ArabellaScott · 25/08/2025 16:58

'A study of 50 women from India demonstrated that surrogate mothers have
higher levels of depression during pregnancy and post-birth. In another research
study, surrogate mothers reported difficulties in relinquishing their newborns in 35 per cent of cases and having negative emotions over their decision to go into
surrogacy in 39 per cent of cases. Some 33 per cent were at risk of post -traumatic stress disorder or anxiety. Substantial stress was observed in 65 per cent of cases in negative in vitro fertilization outcomes.They experience post-birth trauma linked to the release of high quantities of oxytocin after birth for the production of milk and the establishment of the bond, a process abruptly interrupted by removing the newborn'

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