Surrogacy Programs and Agreements

Published on April 16th, 2024

Memorandum of Opposition

Re: A4921-C Paulin / S5107-C Hoylman-Sigal 
Relates to surrogacy programs and agreements

The above referenced bill makes technical “corrections” to the dangerous and misguided law which legalized paid surrogacy in 2020. Nothing can correct such an inherently horrible public policy as commercial surrogacy. The New York State Catholic Conference opposes this legislation.

Legal paid surrogacy is nothing more than government-sanctioned exploitation of women. It treats children as commodities to be bought and sold, with no regard for the lifetime of confusion, pain, loss, and abandonment it creates for them. Surrogacy intentionally fractures families and compels an unnatural and unhealthy act: telling a mother not to bond with the baby she bears in her womb. The practice exploits women, particularly poor women. Through surrogacy, pregnancy is degraded to a mere service, denigrating the dignity of women. So often, surrogacy contacts are made between poor women and wealthy couples, an arrangement which can easily devolve into coercion, uninformed consent, and violations of human rights. Many women have been forced to make decisions putting their lives and the lives of the babies they carry at risk, to satisfy the mere whims of the couples that they serve.

As so often happens with dangerous public policy shifts, the problems they cause come to light only after harm has been caused. An endless litany of legislative “fixes” will never mitigate the destruction brought on by such policies. We urge you to reject this bill and repeal paid surrogacy entirely.