Press release of June 14, 2023
French and Spanish versions here
A Topical debate (Rule 162) took place today June 14, 2023 in plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on the theme «Surrogacy in the Union – risks of exploitation and commercialization».
This debate on surrogacy was included last Thursday, during the Conference of Presidents, on the agenda for this session, following the presentation by the Italian government of a bill in Italy which aims to consider surrogacy as a universal crime.
During the session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, many european Deputies, of various political leanings, have called for a total condemnation of surrogacy, in all its forms, and the Casablanca Declaration has been explicitly cited as a reference document, in particular by Mr. Deputy Bert-Jan Ruissen (Netherlands) .
The experts who signed the Declaration are pleased to see that their work and their proposals are inspiring international discussions.
On May 23, the Casablanca Declaration had already been cited several times during a seminar at the European Parliament in Brussels on the draft EU Regulation on the cross-border recognition of parenthood.
The request addressed to the States, by the Declaration of Casablanca, to engage in an International Convention for the universal abolition of surrogacy is in line with the observation made by the National Consultative Ethics Committee of France of the need for a international response to this international question of surrogacy in its opinion 126.
The French National Ethics Committee, in its recommendations, has thus declared itself «in favor of the development of an international convention for the prohibition of surrogacy and particularly attached to the diplomatic effort«, recommending «the commitment of international, multilateral negotiations”.