June 1, 2016 (FAFCE) — Today is the International Day of Parents, an occasion to recall that parents are the first and primary educators of their children. Every child has a mother and a father and the right to be raised by them. In those cases where it is not possible for one or both of the parents to raise their child it is the duty of society to find a solution, creating conditions as close as possible to those of the original family. This is one of the reasons why surrogacy or surrogate motherhood can never be in best interest of a child.
“It is a fact that every child has a mother and a father, no one can deny this. Throughout history there have been painful situations where parents have not been able to raise their children for different reasons. When circumstances leading to the separation of a child from his or her parents occur society has the duty to find the best solution to care for the child.” says Antoine Renard, President of the European Federation of Catholic Family Associations (FAFCE). Mr Renard also underlines that “the child's best interest must be at the centre of the decisions made in these situations and conditions as close as possible to being raised by the biological mother and father must be found. The current practice of surrogate motherhood is the contrary of this: a child is “ordered” by adults and becomes a commodity. This practice is utterly direspectful of children!”
During the past months FAFCE has issued several statements on surrogacy, stressing that it is a form of modern slavery and fuels human trafficking, whilst exploiting both women and children.
FAFCE has a participatory status with the Council of Europe since 2001 and supports the petition No Maternity Traffick that asks the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to clearly condemn any form of Surrogacy. The petition that has been signed by more than 100 000 citizens will be discussed by the Social Affairs Committee of the PACE on 2 June.
Motherhood and fatherhood are essential for every child. Parents are the first and primary educators of their children, the mother and the father are complementary. On this International Day of Parents FAFCE wishes to recall that every child has the right to know both their mother and father, and be raised by them as far as possible.
Reprinted with permission from FAFCE.