“Is it permissible to have children at all costs?”: the debate on surrogate bellies breaks out in Spain

“It’s legal have children at all costs?” “Is it ethical to force motherhood at 68?” are some of the questions that have been ringing in the ears of the Spaniards since the magazine HI has published a scoop on the cover of its latest edition: the photo of the Spanish actress and presenter Ana Obregón with a baby in her arms.

“Mother of a girl surrogacy in Miami”, reads the title accompanying the photo of the woman, on the verge of 70 years.

Since then, hardly anything has been talked about other than the debate on surrogacy which has also planted the flag, and antagonistic positions, between the government and the opposition.

an illegal practice

surrogacy It is not legal in Spain.

If it were to take place within Spanish territory, for the assisted reproduction law, the agreement that could exist between a pregnant woman and another who would register that newborn as their own It is null: according to Spanish law, the legal mother of a child it is always the woman who gives birth.

“It is a practice that is not legal in Spain,” was the first thing he said about what the cover of Hola celebrates Irene Montero, Minister of Equality.

“The abortion law also specifies that it is illegal and recognizes it as such a form of violence against womenMontero pointed out.

He added: “Also its advertising is prohibited”. Because many companies that engage in surrogacy abroad They have offices in Spainwhere they promote their services.

Here, on the other hand, children who have been carried by women who have given up the uterus can be registered in the registry office if they have a judicial resolution from the country of origin. This opinion must determine the relatedness of the infant to that of that child’s biological mother He gave his consent freely and without pressure.

“It is an exploitation of women and damage to children’s rights,” said the Minister of Education, Pilar Alegría. “This is called surrogacy, not surrogacy,” she pointed out.

According to official data, in 2022 they were registered in Spain 162 children who were born from bellies that are not those of the women they will call “mother”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has registered 3,400 boys and girls born from surrogacy who were registered, between 2010 and July 2022, in the Spanish consulates in 12 countries.

tighten the legislation​

To stop this situation, the spokesman of the PSOE – the majority party in the government coalition – in Congress, Patxi López, postulated tighten the law. So that Spaniards cannot appeal surrogacy in other countries and thus register those children in the Spanish civil registry.

“We have to prevent anyone who wants to go abroad to find ways to hire a woman to have their children and then, when they arrive in Spain, they can register them normally,” he said. We need to strengthen our legislation to prevent that.” “Women’s bodies cannot be rented or bought”, underlined the PSOE spokesman.

“Women’s bodies cannot be rented or bought”

“And the cases that we are seeing have been solved with money. Some claim the freedom of women to be able to decide to give up their bodies. But that’s not true,” López added.

The position of the PP

From Portugal, where he is on tour, the president of the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, made it clear this Thursday that “There is no pronouncement from the Popular Party rather than saying it’s a debate on the table.”

“The reasonable thing to do is to open a debate. Not now, of course, because it is not the time for the Spanish political situation but, I insist, faced with a controversial social fact, what the political parties must do is to discuss Núñez Feijóo said. But that’s not the main problem we have in Spain at the moment.”

The position of citizens

The only political party that looks favorably on surrogacy, which is allowed in some US states, Ukraine and Canada, is citizens.

“A media case can only cover the reality of thousands of families to fill a project with love use this assisted reproduction technique”, said Inés Arrimadas, spokesperson for the Congress of Citizens, the liberal party that had already proposed regulating surrogacy in its 2015 electoral program.

Taking advantage of the fact that the topic has become trending topicthis Thursday the Citizens will re-register, for the third time, their bill in the Congress of Deputies.

the doctors speak

Coincidentally, this Thursday, doctors are also filing in Congress with their Code of Medical Ethics, which relates to the issue burning on television program screens.

“Pregnancy from altruistic substitution It is not contrary to medical ethics as long as the dignity of the woman and the superior interests of the minor are preserved, with appropriate regulation and control by the National Commission for Assisted Human Reproduction”, the doctors point out.

“Surrogacy pregnancy with financial compensation It is contrary to medical ethics. The commercialization of the woman’s body violates her dignity ”, underlines the document.

The Obregón case raises awareness in Spanish society, which is a lot related to the ups and downs of the actress’ private life. In 2020, the death of her only son, Alex Lequio, 27 and a cancer patient, shocked the whole world.

Three years later and after being photographed by the Spanish press at the exit of a Miami clinic, Ana Obregón recounted what she feels on her social networks: “A light full of love has come into my darkness,” she said on her account Instagram. -. I will never be alone again. I still lived.”

ap​