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Press Release, Bogotá, August 15, 2026
Olivia Maurel in Colombia: Mobilizing for the bill introduced on August 13 to abolish surrogacy in Colombia |
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Summary Olivia Maurel—born via surrogacy and spokesperson for the Casablanca Declaration—is concluding her South American tour in Colombia. Following visits to Chile and Argentina, she traveled to Bogotá from August 13 to 15, 2026. This trip coincides with the introduction of a bill to abolish surrogacy in Colombia. Colombia is one of the most common destinations in the global surrogacy market, which exploits vulnerable Colombian women. Olivia’s testimony, along with the work of numerous experts mobilized for the bill’s introduction, underscored that protecting the dignity of women and children must be the foundation of any public policy in this area. The Program On August 13, Olivia Maurel spoke at the Congress of the Republic of Colombia, where the bill to ban surrogacy was introduced that same day. She participated in a forum titled «The Crime of Reproductive Exploitation in Colombia,» featuring presentations by: – Olivia Maurel: «Opening Address: When the Law Decides Whom It Protects» – Juana Inés Acosta, Professor and Director of the Public Interest and Human Rights Clinic at the University of La Sabana: «Surrogacy from the Perspective of the Constitution and the Constitutional Block.» – Diana Sthefania Muñoz Gómez, Professor and Researcher at the Latin American Institute of the Family (ILFARUS): «The Seven Lies of Altruism in Colombia.» – Juan Camilo Ramírez, lawyer from the University of the Andes and honors graduate of the University of Notre Dame (USA): «The legal status of surrogacy in Colombia» – Natalia Rueda, research professor at Externado University of Colombia: «What do the contracts say? The lived experiences of surrogacy victims in Colombia» – Bernard García Larraín, Head of the International Affairs Unit and ministerial advisor to Chile’s Ministry of Social Development and Family: «International overview and the experience of the Casablanca Declaration» Watch the forum video below: |
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👉 Olivia at the Colombian Parliament 🇨🇴 |
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Presentation of the bill to abolish surrogacy in Colombia. Olivia subsequently attended the press conference presenting the bill aimed at abolishing surrogacy in Colombia (see the bill’s key measures at the end of the press release). This bill, signed by 15 members of the Congress of the Republic of Colombia from various political parties, was introduced by lawmakers Luis Miguel López, Carol Borda, David Cote, and Darwin Castellanos Romero. Other members of Congress and forum speakers were also in attendance. During the press conference, David Cote stated that he had initially supported altruistic surrogacy and had worked on a proposal to that effect. However, he acknowledged that this approach was not the right one, which is why he joined this initiative. |
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Externado University of Colombia In the afternoon, Olivia was invited by the Private Law Research Group and the Department of Civil Law at the Externado University of Colombia to give a lecture titled «I Was Born via Surrogacy: Personal and Legal Implications.» The talk offered a unique perspective for reflecting on parentage, the right to identity, bioethical dilemmas, and the constitutional tensions arising from this practice. She spoke alongside distinguished judges and academics: |
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August 14 On August 14, she delivered a keynote lecture at the University of La Sabana, focusing on international experiences and contemporary debates regarding surrogacy. She then visited the French Embassy for a private meeting with the consular team. In the afternoon, she participated in an academic panel at the Pontifical Xavierian University (Universidad Pontificia Javeriana) on the topic «Dialogues on Surrogacy from a Medical Perspective,» before making herself available to the media. This visit takes place at a particularly significant time for Colombia. In the absence of specific legislation regarding surrogacy, the practice has gradually expanded. Faced with this situation, Olivia Maurel has helped raise awareness among Colombian policymakers about the human consequences of surrogacy and has supported the bill introduced on August 13, which aims to ban the practice. |
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👉 At the University of La Sabana: Brenda Rocha Narváez, Director of ILFARUS (Latin American Family Institute at the University of La Sabana); Juan Fernando Córdoba, Vice-Rector for Faculty and Research at the University of La Sabana; Olivia Maurel; Bernard Garcia, Advisor to the Chilean Ministry of Social Development and Family; Diana Sthefania Muñoz Gómez, Professor and Researcher at ILFARUS and Director of the ILFARUS postgraduate program. |
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👉 At the Pontifical University Javeriana |
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👉Colombian bill banning «reproductive exploitation through surrogacy,» introduced in Congress on August 13, 2026.The purpose of this text, as defined in Article 1, is to prohibit the practice of surrogacy in order to eliminate the reproductive exploitation of women and the commodification of children. Article 3 establishes a criminal offense of «reproductive exploitation through surrogacy» by adding the following article to Law 599 of 2000: Article 188F. Reproductive exploitation through surrogacy. Any person who, directly or through an intermediary, or in the capacity of member, administrator, financier, collaborator, or representative of an organization, agency, clinic, medical center, commercial enterprise, or national or transnational network, promotes, proposes, facilitates, negotiates, or finances surrogacy agreements or contracts, or recruits, transports, houses, or accommodates a woman for the purpose of her carrying and giving birth to a child intended to be handed over to the commissioning party or to any other person, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of one hundred twenty (120) to one hundred ninety-two (192) months and a fine of five hundred (500) to one thousand five hundred (1,500) times the prevailing monthly minimum wage. The same penalty applies to any person who advertises, promotes, disseminates, or offers—by any physical, digital, or technological means—services, contracts, programs, agencies, or medical, tourism, or legal packages intended for surrogacy arrangements within the national territory or abroad. A surrogate mother who carries or has carried a child under a surrogacy agreement bears no criminal liability for this act. Article 4 sets out a number of aggravating circumstances, and Article 5 penalizes Colombian citizens who engage in surrogacy—regardless of the type or form—even if the act was committed wholly or partly outside Colombia. Article 6 of the bill declares contracts for surrogacy null and void—without the need for a court ruling—regardless of their name, form, or method of conclusion. It specifies that the mother of children conceived or born in Colombia is the woman who carries and gives birth to them. Finally, Article 7 provides for the protection of the surrogate mother: the State guarantees women who have carried or are carrying a child under a surrogacy agreement full protection of their rights, including access to medical, psychological, legal, and social care, as well as programs aimed at their social and professional integration under dignified conditions, without prejudice to any legal proceedings brought against those who promote, facilitate, finance, advertise, act as intermediaries for, or exploit the practice of surrogacy. |