In November, the United Nations Human Rights Council will conduct its universal periodic review of Greece and Ireland, a process that holds every U.N. member state accountable for its human rights record roughly once every four and a half years.
Organizations working for the abolition of surrogacy are using this moment to challenge both countries' surrogacy frameworks. The practice was among 13 violations of human dignity condemned in the Vatican declaration Dignitas Infinita, issued in April 2024.
Among the groups raising concerns is Juristes pour lʼEnfance, a French association of legal professionals dedicated to defending childrenʼs rights. The group has submitted two formal observations to the Human Rights Council, arguing that Ireland and Greece have repackaged what is fundamentally a commercial arrangement in the language of compassion and altruism, while children ultimately bear the consequences.
EWTN News spoke with Matthieu Le Tourneur, a French jurist with Juristes pour lʼEnfance. He said the organizationʼs central concern is that “a child must never be the object of a contract” since that commodifies them. He added that “surrogacy, whether commercial or presented as altruistic or regulated, involves treating a human being as goods. This is unacceptable.”
‘Children are not contracts,’ advocates say
Of the European Unionʼs 27 member states, 16 explicitly prohibit surrogacy and seven have no clear legal framework. Only four — Greece, Ireland, Cyprus, and Portugal — formally permit it.
Greece and Ireland are viewed as having the broadest legal openings for surrogacy, while both heavily describe their systems as “altruistic,” meaning no direct payment is made to the surrogate mother for carrying and delivering the child.
Juristes pour lʼEnfance disputes that characterization. Le Tourneur explained that under Irelandʼs Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024, a surrogate may receive compensation for up to 12 months of lost income as well as reimbursement for a wide range of expenses. In Greece, fixed payments of 10,000 euros — rising to 15,000 euros for multiple pregnancies — are permitted as compensation for what the law calls “suffering” or “fatigue.”
“Altruistic for whom?” Le Tourneur asked. “It is never altruistic for the child, who will carry for life the invisible mark of having been sold or given away, of having been the object of a contract. The term ‘altruistic surrogacy’ concerns only adults; it does not concern the child.”
Advocates for abolition frequently cite the 1989 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, specifically Article 7, which guarantees a childʼs right to know and be raised by its parents. They argue that surrogacy deliberately severs the childʼs maternal bond at birth and constitutes a form of child sale under Article 35 and its Optional Protocol, even when the arrangement bears no overt price tag.
Trafficking, vulnerability, and the limits of regulation
The limits of surrogacy regulation became starkly visible in 2023, when Greek authorities uncovered an alleged criminal network operating out of the Mediterranean Fertility Institute in Crete. Investigators found evidence of trafficked migrant women, primarily from Eastern Europe, who had been recruited as surrogates. The case involved falsified documents, fraudulent embryo transfers, and what prosecutors described as industrial-scale handling of embryos.
“Legalizing a practice never eliminates trafficking outside the legal framework,” Le Tourneur said. “In some cases, the existence of a legal market even strengthens illegal trafficking.” He drew a parallel to debates around drug legalization, where legal supply has not always suppressed black markets.
He further noted that legalization can act as a pull factor for vulnerable women, since they know that for roughly 12 months they will receive financial support, care, and “sometimes accommodation.”
These concerns have increasingly been echoed by U.N. experts. Le Tourneur pointed to the 2018 findings of former special rapporteur Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, a 2019 report by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and a 2025 report by Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem — all of which raised concerns about surrogacy as a form of exploitation affecting women and children.
A defining debate for Europe
This focus on surrogacy comes at a time when Europe is increasingly split on the topic. While surrogacyʼs proponents frame it as an act of generosity between willing adults, the majority of EU member states — including France, Germany, Spain, and Poland — continue to treat it as a form of exploitation incompatible with human dignity.
Italy has taken one of Europeʼs toughest stances, classifying surrogacy as a universal crime. Under a law that took effect in November 2024, Italian citizens can face prosecution for obtaining surrogacy services abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal. Convictions carry prison sentences of up to two years and fines ranging from 600,000 euros to 1 million euros.
Against that backdrop, Le Tourneur said Greece and Ireland matter not only for what is happening within their borders but also for the precedent they set. If the Human Rights Council issues recommendations against their surrogacy laws, it would send a powerful signal to other governments weighing similar legislation.
“We hope that, thanks to our alerts, the council will urge the countries concerned to amend their national legislation,” Le Tourneur said. “Such recommendations may also deter other countries from adopting laws that the Human Rights Council would consider to be violations of human rights.”
