Manifestation against commercial surrogacy in Brussels – Belgium
About twenty women gathered on Saturday afternoon in front of The Hotel, on the Waterloolaan in Brussels, to protest against the holding in the hotel of an event about commercial surrogacy.
The “Men Having Babies” salon aims to present same-sex couples the social, legal and medical aspects of surrogacy.
“Women should not be exploited,” chanted the protesters dressed as maids. ‘Don’t buy, adopt’, read on the placards. The protest was organized by the Coalition for the Abolition of Surrogate Motherhood (CIAMS), which campaigns for adoption, and more broadly for the empowerment and autonomy of women, notably through access to contraception and abortion. According to the protesters, the event promotes commercial surrogacy, which is contrary to respect for reality and women’s freedom.
no frame
In Belgium there is currently no clear existing framework governing surrogacy. This way of procreation is therefore not prohibited, but the surrogate mother remains the mother.
N-VA vice-chairman Lorin Parys has lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor and the Brussels prosecutor against the organization of the fair and asked to start an investigation. ‘I have a problem with the lack of information about surrogacy. What is a problem is the fact that the scholarship facilitates commercial motherhood. Although there is no legal regulation on surrogacy in Belgium, it is clear that paying for a species is against our public order. Children are not a commodity,” he said in a statement the day before the event.
The “Men Having Babies” salon aims to help same-sex couples carry the social, legal and medical aspects of surrogacy. “Women should not be exploited,” chanted the protesters dressed as maids. ‘Don’t buy, adopt’, read on the placards. The protest was organized by the Coalition for the Abolition of Surrogate Motherhood (CIAMS), which campaigns for adoption, and more broadly for the empowerment and autonomy of women, notably through access to contraception and abortion. According to the protesters, the event promotes commercial surrogacy, which is contrary to respect for reality and women’s freedom. In Belgium there is currently no clear existing framework governing surrogacy. This way of procreation is therefore not prohibited, but the surrogate mother remains the mother. N-VA vice-chairman Lorin Parys has lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor and the Brussels prosecutor against the organization of the fair and asked to start an investigation. ‘I have a problem with the lack of information about surrogacy. What is a problem is the fact that the scholarship facilitates commercial motherhood. Although there is no legal regulation on surrogacy in Belgium, it is clear that paying for a species is against our public order. Children are not a commodity,” he said in a statement the day before the event.