A symposium on the reality of surrogate motherhood was held in the French Senate on 4th October 2025 and provided a platform for surrogate mothers. Co- organised by CIAMS (International Coalition for the Abolition of Substitution Maternity), CNFF (National Council of French Women) and Stop Surrogacy Now UK, the meeting was intended to highlight the consequences of surrogate motherhood in all its forms.
For the introduction, the socialist senator for Val-de-Marne, Laurence Rossignol recalled in her recorded statement, the fundamental challenge in this emblematic location: “This symposium is being held in the very building where laws are created. Our duty is to protect women and children.” Ana Luana Stoicea Deram, the joint founder and co-president of CIAMS, then took the stage to honour the courage of the women who accepted to come and testify. “For the first time, the Senate is giving a voice to those who are never heard: women who have borne a child for someone else.“
The testimonies
Four women from Argentina, United States, United Kingdom and France took the stage to provide their moving testimonies.
- Alejandra, from Argentina, testified in Spanish through a flood of tears. Under economic difficulties, and with no residence permit, she became a victim of human trafficking:
“I was happy to help them to become parents and that they would help me to become a mother again. I accepted the beautiful project. A friend had suggested marrying me to help me to obtain documents in France. We formed a three-member family in Europe. I would live on one floor of their large house and they would live on the other floor and we would bring up the child together.”
Since 2023, Alejandra has been fighting in France to regain her place in the life of her son who she can now see for two hours per fortnight under the supervision of social services. She hopes one day to be reunited with her child who is now two years old.
- Christian (USA) states that she felt a very strong protective feeling for the baby during her pregnancy. The birth had to be induced due to pre-eclampsia, a frequent complication in cases of IVF pregnancies with a surrogate mother.
“My body was constantly telling me that the baby was mine, and I couldn’t explain it to anyone. The agency, my family and my friends told me it was not mine, I felt very alone. I held the baby in my arms once; it was a boy. We took photos with my family. That was in 2018. (…) I deeply regret having used my body in such a way. I was vulnerable and nobody defended me.”
- MarieAnne (United Kingdom) was next to speak:
“I accepted to become a surrogate mother for my cousin. She was like a sister for me. I knew she was suffering from cancer. A few years ago, she told me she had created embryos. She asked me “Could you help me?” I answered that I would help her only on condition that she would subsequently allow me to have contact with the child. She looked me straight in the eye and answered “Yes, of course, we can trust one another you know. You will be the child’s godmother.” Later on, those words would come back to haunt me, … after the birth, I was shown legal documents which I had to sign. The moment was badly chosen: I was still trying to get over the birth. Imagine having to drag your body and spirit for nine months in the knowledge that you are not the mother of the child you are bringing into the world. All surrogate mothers have to do so. After that you are given a document stipulating that you are not the mother which you have to sign. That is the dark side of substitution motherhood in the United Kingdom, which is never mentioned because most women are subject to confidentiality clauses which prevent them from speaking out. The child was a daughter, born in 2014, I have never seen her again since she was born. I have been diagnosed with a complex post-traumatic stress syndrome and have undergone therapy in order to attenuate certain of the traumas directly associated with the substitution maternity. The impact has also affected my children; they have taken up the role of parents as I was unable to look after them. By trying to help another family, my family has been destroyed.”
- Julie, who is French, took her turn and introduced herself as an LGBT militant, who wanted to help a couple of men to become parents. She said she felt alone during her pregnancy, without support. The father demanded that she should be separated from the baby from the first night after the birth of the child of which she is also the biological mother. In order to stand by her word, she agreed to hand over the child in the car park on leaving the maternity clinic. For her body, it was like a bereavement. Nowadays she defines herself as “surrogate motherhood waste”. The visits have become ever rarer and shorter until Julie was deprived of any link with her son for 10 months. Later on, she was described as a “mere progenitor” by a state procurator, she said: “My son has been stolen from me; I am fighting to recover my status as a mother.”
The dark side of surrogate motherhood
In a debate monopolised by the “intended parents”, four women were able to share their experiences. They describe a hidden reality: that of a confiscated maternity, a betrayed promise, their body considered as a reproduction tool. Some of them had taken part through altruism, mistakenly believing they were performing an act of generosity. They all discovered the solitude, the guilt and the pain of separation. All four are battling today to regain a place in the life of their child.
A world-wide exploitation system
Testimonies by three lawyers highlighted the legal and human gravity of surrogate motherhood.
Me Le Gouvello, representing Julie, recalled that surrogate motherhood is not recognised in French law and that the sponsors should be prosecuted for incitement to abandon a child (article 227-12 of the penal code). However, in practice, the law suspects the mothers to be incapable of being parents because they have accepted surrogate motherhood.
Me Constance Ambroselli, Alejandra’s lawyer denounces “clandestine surrogate motherhood on French soil” and recalls that the law must protect the mother and child, not the sponsors.
Me Castro Montesinos, a specialist on Latin America, describes a real “Eldorado of surrogate motherhood” absence of laws, exploitation of vulnerable women, financial gain.
In several states, behind the legal or altruist fronts, the same logic prevails: that of profit, promotion and the exploitation of vulnerability.
A political and feminist battle
In conclusion, Hélène Bidard, the deputy mayor of Paris, denounced the temptation for trivialising surrogate motherhood for so-called “ethical” reasons. She stated “The idea of ethical surrogate motherhood, is in fact equivalent to ethical slavery.” “True progress is not to follow market forces, but rather the emancipation and respect for the human body.“
An appeal for responsibility: listening to those concerned, means refusing the merchandising of the living
Beyond the testimonies, the symposium revealed a clear consensus: stop presenting surrogate motherhood as a mere procreation method or “societal progress”. The women who partake in surrogate motherhood are not modern heroines, but are the victims of a system which exploits generosity and poverty. Substitute motherhood is disrespectful of women by dehumanising them and trading on their bodies.
The UN report recommending the prohibition of surrogate motherhood, presented on 10th October 2025 during the third General Assembly of the United Nations Commission by special reporter Reem Alsalem gave a worldwide stage to her words: “States and other interested parties must endeavour at the international level, to take measures with a view to eradicating substitution motherhood in all its forms.” The report concludes that surrogate motherhood is a form of slavery and human trafficking. Following the European Parliament which considers the practice of substitution motherhood as a crime of human trafficking, this report marks a fundamental milestone in the battle for universal abolition. The question is whether or not the report will soon have any consequences in the application to French law?
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